Vacancy
by Insomni-Act
Summary: Marshall is turned down by Chase and broken. Now he has a vacancy in his heart. He meets a new pup and they seem to have a lot in common. When Chase becomes jealous knowing the Dalmatian has found someone new that makes him happy, he begins to spy on the two and mettle. In Chase's mind he doesn't have feelings for Marshall, so why is he so concerned that Marshall may have moved on?
1. Rendezvous

**AN: This is going to be a MarshallxChase fic. If this is not your cup of tea then so be it, but I ship these two so hard thanks to KNDFreak and Cidthunder.**

 **I'm writing three stories at once now (I'm a glutton for punishment.)**

 **Featured Story Today is: " _Play Your Symphony"_ by _Cidthunder._ check it out if you can. It's a great story.**

 **Also, check out the song " _Vacancy"_ by _Kylee._ After starting this story I happened to come across the song and it describes exactly how Marshall feels in this story. I found that very ironic.**

 **And so without further ado...**

* * *

Chase may not have had on his spy gear but he was still as stealthy as ever. He secretly followed the dalmatian through the town, curious to find out who he had been meeting with over the past week. To him, Marshall had always seemed to be on cloud nine after meeting this _mystery pup._ Always daydreaming during meals, staying out longer during his daily walks, and coming back with a big goofy smile on his face. If Chase didn't know any better he would say Marshall was in love. He honestly didn't know why he cared so much about who Marshall was meeting and what he was doing. Especially after shooting him down a month ago.

Marshall had finally worked up the nerve to confess his feelings to the shepard. He poured his heart out, only to be rejected in a harsh manner. Naturally there was a long period of hurt and sadness for the dally afterwards. He and Chase were no longer as close as they used to be and that fact was noticeable to everyone. The others had no idea what had transpired to cause a rift between the two, but figured it was best not to mettle. Chase and Skye had started dating sometime after Marshall's rejection. The light in the dally's eyes had completely disappeared. He rarely said a word to anyone and spent most of his time in his pup-house or taking walks alone. Even during missions he had stopped saying his catchphrases and seldom spoke while performing his tasks; only giving a small nod here and there to signify he understood. On missions where he had to pair up with Chase, he wouldn't say a word to him. Ryder, Zuma, Rocky, Skye, and Rubble wondered about the drastic change in Marshall's behavior. They tried to pry answers from the fire-pup, but every time they questioned him; the conversation always ended with him telling them that he didn't want to talk about it and that would be the end of it. In fact, the only phrases the others would ever hear Marshall say is: _I'm just not hungry, I'm just tired, I'm just going for a walk,_ and _I don't wanna talk about it..._

But all that had changed now. It seemed as if Marshall was back to his old self again. Even his clumsiness had returned. Although Ryder and the others were happy about this; Chase just couldn't help feeling a certain way about it. Who on earth could be making Marshall this happy.

Chase pressed his back against a brick wall trying to remain out of sight. He wouldn't dare label himself as _jealous._ He kept using curiosity as an excuse. Still, deep in the back of his mind he found himself questioning why he was doing this. Chase hid behind the corner of a building as he watched Marshall cross the street while singing. Looking in the direction of where Marshall was headed, he was able to see the dally was heading to a fast-food restaurant. Marshall approached the restaurant and pushed his way through the entrance doors walking his way to the patio dining area.

Since Marshall was going to the patio, there was no reason for Chase to go through the inside of the restaurant. He could simply watch him from behind the shrubbery. Chase quickly crossed the street following after Marshall. He walked to the side of the restaurant and crawled on his belly under a row of neatly trimmed bushes just below a slightly raised patio. He stuck his head up just enough to see through the patio guard rails. He watched as Marshall walked up to a table for two.

Marshall stopped in front of the table for two and looked up to see an opened menu standing up atop the table.

"Hi Joey!" Marshall said as he smiled, wagging his tail happily.

A pair of white paws closed the menu and set it down on the table flat. Behind it was a Dalmatian pup with amber eyes. He had a tuft of fur on top of his head that combed forward in a messy yet stylish way. Around his neck was a small black speaker box attached to a red collar with a flat silver shield shaped tag which had a red cross imprinted into it. His ears, while being raised, slightly curved down at the tip. The fur covering the left ear was completely black, while the opposite ear was white with a few small black spots.

"Hey Marsh, you made it." he answered back.

Chase stared at the amber eyed Dalmatian. _Joey_!? He thought to himself. _Marshall did say that he had always liked that name when we named all those turtles._ Looking at Marshall's Dalmatian friend, Chase could actually see how he would be considered eye candy. He seemed to just have this certain charm to him.

"Yeah, we had to do a little maintenance on our vehicles at the lookout." Marshall said while taking his seat across from Joey.

Joey chuckled. "Well that kind of safety IS important. My partner and I have to go through the same routine. The last thing you'd want is to be rushing on your way to save someone and then end up catching a flat or blowing your motor."

"Yeah, that's true." Marshall said looking down. "So... what's it like? Ya-know, being an EMT pup for the Hospital and all that."

"I'd say it's about the same as being an EMT pup for PAW Patrol." Laughed Joey. "Though I gotta say, sometimes... It can get a little gruesome out there." He said looking away. "You could end up seeing stuff you never really wanted to see. These people's lives depend solely on you and weigh on your shoulders. Any second lost getting to them could be critical."

"Oh..." Marshall replied, starting to look a little uncomfortable.

"I'm guessing you haven't had that experience in the PAW Patrol yet..." Joey said looking a little sheepish. "Hopefully you never have to. I wouldn't wish it on anyone."

"Yeah... I really don't know if I'd be able to handle something like that. That sounds like a lot of pressure... and I'm barely any help when I'm NOT under pressure." Marshall said, looking down.

Joey reached over and placed his paw on top of Marshall's, causing him to blush in surprise. This in turn made Chase grit his teeth angrily while he continued to watch.

"Marshall I'm sure you'd be able to handle anything that comes your way. From the day wet met weeks ago; I could tell you were a strong pup." Joey said. "I can always tell at times that you don't have much confidence in yourself."

Marshall looked at the ground in guilt and embarrassment at Joey's last statement before Joey continued.

"You may not see it like I do yet, but as your friend, I have to tell you you're a great pup." Joey smiled sweetly at the other Dalmatian.

This made Marshall lift his head back up to Joey as he started blushing. _Joey... really thinks I'm great. I've never heard anyone say that about me._

"I... I'm not THAT great." The blushing fire-pup replied modestly. _I only feel great when I'm with you..._ He thought to himself.

"You're right... You're better than great." Joey said, shooting Marshall a wink with a smile.

Marshall couldn't take his eyes off him now. Joey was so kind and supportive to him. It seemed as if he tried to encourage Marshall every chance he got. Marshall didn't want to believe that he was falling for someone again. Someone he possibly couldn't have. Joey's smile was so dazzling that it was mesmerizing.

"Uhh... You ok Marsh?" Joey asked, tilting his head. Marshall had left this world and his trance wasn't broken until a blonde woman in waitress attire strolled over carrying an electronic tablet and stylus.

"Hi, my name is Cathy!" She said in a chipper tone. "What would you two like to order today?"

Chase didn't like this one bit. He didn't like this scene, nor how close it seemed the two were. There was nothing he could do however. His only choices were to sit and watch or stand and leave. His Pup Tag suddenly went off.

" _Chase, where are you?_ " Wrung out a female voice from the speakers. Chase ducked deeper into the bushes. The dry branches were uncomfortably brushing up against his back. " _Chase?_ " The voice repeated from the speakers.

"Hey Skye." Chase answered in a low hushed tone.

" _Why are you whispering?_ " She asked, the curiosity clear in her tone.

"I'm just- uh... you know, in a public place." He answered.

" _Oh, where are you?_ " She questioned.

"Just... in town... at this fast-food restaurant." Chase said, peeking back over to the Dalmatians to make sure they hadn't noticed him. Fortunately the two seemed to be distracted talking with the server. "Uhh Skye... now's not a good time for me to talk.

" _Oh, ooook. Well don't forget, we have our picnic at Big View Trail in a few hours. Just the two of us. I found a great spot to set up and it has the BEST view._ " She said happily.

Chase groaned within his mind. He had completely forgotten THAT picnic was today. He wouldn't be able to attend the picnic with Skye AND keep an eye on Marshall and Joey. Skye began to ramble on about what a great time the two of them would have and how nice the scenery would be. Chase, getting impatient decided to just speak up.

"Don't worry Skye. I won't forget. You know I've been looking forward to this." He said, bearing an uncomfortable expression.

" _Great! See ya then Chase!"_ Skye made kissing noises before ending the call.

Chase sighed. He really had been looking forward to this picnic. That is until his curiosity of Marshall's business got the better of him. He poked his head back out of the bushes.

"HUH? Where'd they go?" He said, staring at the table that now had two empty seats. His eyes darted all around the patio, but still found no trace of them. "UGH!" He huffed in aggravation and crawled from out of the bushes.

Chase searched street corner to street corner looking for the two Dalmatians, but they were still nowhere to be found.

"Who goes to a restaurant to just sit and then leave?" He said to himself, running down the sidewalk looking back and forth. "I should check the beach."

After running for blocks and blocks, the beach began to come into Chase's view. In the distance he was able to see four pups playing volleyball; two of those pups being on the opposite side of the net. The volleyball was launched high into the air and not a second later a female husky leaped up and spiked the ball with great strength.

"I got it! I got it!" Yelled Rocky. He ran to the drop shadow of the volleyball only to take a step back when he realized how fast it was traveling. The ball hit the ground with great force causing sand to displace in the spot that it landed.

"Oh yeah! Point for us!" Shouted Everest as she danced up to Rubble and high-fived him.

"Great spike Everest!" Said the bulldog as he bumped tushes with her.

An upset Rocky looked over to them. "Can you guys spike the ball any _harder?_ " He asked sarcastically. "It's already unfair that you two _powerhouses_ got to team up. At least tone it down a LITTLE."

"Yeah, you guys are making craters in the sand for cwying out loud." Zuma cosigned while pointing to the area that sand had been displaced by the ball.

"Oh don't be such babies." Rubble laughed.

"Yeah, we're not hitting the ball THAT hard." Everest said rolling her eyes.

The four flinched as they heard a whistle blow.

"Ok pups let's remember to have GOOD sportsmanship and be fair!" Shouted Ryder from the referee high chair. "Rubble and Everest, try to be a little more considerate of the other players. You two ARE pretty strong."

"Aww ok..." Rubble groaned, looking down.

Chase made his way over in the midst of this. "Hey Chase." Everest said, greeting the Shepard. "You excited for your _picnic?_ " She giggled causing Chase to blush.

"H-How do YOU know about that?" He asked.

Everest giggled into her paw. "Me and Skye talk about _everything._ " She answered rolling her eyes.

"Oh... right. Has anyone seen- uhh... Marshall?" He asked.

The four pups shook their heads. "I haven't seen him since breakfast earlier." replied Rubble.

"Marshall called me from his Pup Tag." answered Ryder. "He told me that he was going to grab his EMT truck to help someone. He didn't say much more than that."

"Thanks Ryder!" Chase yelled as he bolted towards the lookout.

Chase ran and ran, nearing the bridge to the lookout. He heard blaring sirens and over the bridge came Marshall's EMT truck flying down the road. Marshall was in the driver's seat wearing his EMT gear while Joey was sitting behind him holding onto his shoulders. Both of them bearing serious expressions. As they flew past the Shepard, he only had one question in mind...

"Where are they headed?"


	2. Exigency

**AN: Finally an update for this. I'm in the progress of finishing a cover I drew for this particular story. My new profile icon is just a part of that cover but it's still incomplete.**

 **Also I recently realized that I've been spelling "Shepherd" wrong up until now... How embarrassing. Why did no one point this out to me? :/ I type my stories from my iphone 6s and for some reason it recognizes "Shepard" as an actual word...**

 **Anyway, I'm not going to babble this time as much as I normally do.**

 **Thank you for all your continued support :)**

 **And without further ado...**

* * *

 _Marshall walked into the playroom of the lookout to see Chase deep in thought. In fact, Chase was so deep in thought, that he didn't even notice Marshall enter the room or approach him. Marshall walked up beside him._

" _Hiya Chase." Marshall waved._

" _Ahh!" Chase yelled aloud, being suddenly startled out of his thoughts. He turned to face the dalmatian. "Marshall don't sneak up on me like that." He said, holding onto his chest while breathing out._

" _Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Marshall replied sheepishly._

" _I wasn't scared, you just surprised me that's all." Chase corrected._

" _I thought you heard me come in, but you looked like you were miles away."_

" _I guess you could say that…" Replied Chase, who caused the dalmatian to become more curious._

" _Is everything ok? What were you thinking about?" Marshall asked._

 _"Well It's just… I've been thinking, and I think it's time to tell Skye how I really feel about her."_

 _After hearing this, Marshall's ears slightly drooped as he put on a fake smile. "Oh… What made you want to tell her?" He asked._

 _"Well… you see, when Skye got lost in that snowstorm, it really worried me... I felt like I was going to lose her. All I could think about was going out there myself and finding her. It made me realize... that if I was ever going to tell Skye how I felt about her, I would need to work up the courage and do it soon. I can't just wait around anymore. I have to be the one who steps forward and says something; otherwise, she'll never know how I feel."_

" _That's true…" Replied Marshall, moving his paws along the floor in a circular motion. "But what if… you tell her and she doesn't feel the same way?"_

" _I'll never know unless I just go for it." Chase said looking away._

 _With those last words from Chase, Marshall then began to go into deep thought himself._

 _(If I'm ever going to tell him… I need to work up the courage and do it soon… I can't just wait around anymore… I have to be the one who steps forward and says something… Otherwise, he'll never know how I feel.) Marshall held his breath with anxiety._

" _Well, it's now or never." Chase said, turning his back to walk away._

 _(It's now or never!) Marshall screamed at himself._

 _Chase started to walk away._

" _Chase wait!" Marshall unintentionally yelled, causing Chase to turn around in surprise._

" _What?! What's wrong?!" Chase asked, looking a little worried._

" _Th-There's something I need to tell you…" Marshall said, looking away. He was nervously rubbing his shoulder._

 _Chase walked back to the spot where he once was in front of the dalmatian. "What is it?" He asked._

 _Marshall couldn't look him in the eye, but he continued to speak regardless. "Chase… I have to tell you, there's someone that I really like too."_

 _Chase stared at the dalmatian's expression for a second before his eyes shot open in shock. "No… Don't tell me…" Chase started._

 _Marshall braced himself._

" _You like Skye too?!" The shepherd blurted out._

 _Marshall looked a little dumbfounded. "What? No." He replied shaking his head._

" _Phew!" Chase placed his paw on his chest in relief. "I thought for sure that's what you were gonna say…" he gave a nervous laugh. "So who is it then?"_

 _The dally began to shift, becoming more and more uneasy._

" _Ohh! Is it Everest?" Chase guessed._

 _Beads of sweat were forming on Marshall's face. (Come on… Say it. SAY IT!) He mentally screamed at himself. "It's… it's… YOU Chase!" Marshall finally shouted, lowering his ears. He finally was able to look Chase in the eye as he spoke. "I have… these feelings for you Chase. I have for a long time. You've always been by my side. When I'm with you I feel happy… and safe..."_

 _Chase was silent for a moment, before a smile formed on his face and he bursted into laughter. "Oh Marshall, you're so funny." He continued to laugh, making Marshall's spirit collapse. He looked back at Marshall and saw that he was not laughing along with him. His laughter started to die down as he looked at Marshall just standing there, staring at the floor. "Marshall?"_

" _It wasn't a joke…" Marshall finally said._

 _Chase was speechless as he started to process things and remember something that Marshall had said to him before._

 _ **Being in a cave doesn't scare me… when you're around.**_

 _Chase blinked back into reality. "Marshall, no… Just no." Chase replied shaking his head as he backed away. "I love Skye… and even if I didn't, you're a guy. That's just… not right to me. It's just… weird. I won't hold anything against you for it, but I can't feel that way about you." Tears were starting to well up in Marshall's eyes and Chase noticed this immediately. "C'mon Marshall, I'm just being honest here-"_

" _Just forget it!" Marshall yelled out, cutting Chase off. His voice was cracking. "Forget this whole conversation! I knew it was a mistake to try and tell you..." Streams of tears proceeded to come forth. "It was stupid of me to even try!" Marshall ran past Chase with his head down, tears freely falling._

 _Chase was speechless yet again. He didn't know what to say or even do. He just sat there._

* * *

 _ **Present Day**_

Marshall was sitting at a restaurant table with Joey while a very perky waitress was about to take their order. A voice suddenly bursted through the bulky speaker attached to Joey's collar.

" _Joey! Joey, do yo- *kssst* read me?!_ A male voice asked in the midst of heavy static. Joey reached his paw and held down a small button on the speaker.

"Yeah, I read you Dirk, but you're a little fuzzy." Replied Joey.

" _Ok. There's been an accident on the road right below the ledge of Big V- *kssst* Trail. Can you get there as qui- *kssst* as you can and make sure the driver and possible passengers are ok? I can meet you there, but right now I'm tending to an elderly wom- *kssst* who fell down a short flight of stairs._

"Big View Trail? Sure thing. I'm already on my way." Joey answered.

" _Great. Se- *kssst* you then Jo- *ksssssst*"_ Dirk said, before the transmission ended.

Joey quickly hopped out of his seat. "Sorry Marsh, I'll have to cut our meal short. Duty calls." He said facing the other dalmatian. "Now I just have to find a cab that can get me where I need to go, and fast."

"I could come with you." Marshall said, with almost pleading eyes. "We could use my EMT truck."

"That's a good idea, but you sure you're up for this?" Joey asked.

"I'm ready for a ruff ruff rescue!" Marshall answered shooting a wink. He lept out of his seat, running right past Joey. "Follow me!"

The two ran off, leaving behind the waitress, who looked rather confused, and an unknown spy in the bushes, whose attention was directed elsewhere.

Only minutes passed before the two were already running across the large bridge to the lookout, Marshall, deciding to call Ryder, tapped his pup-tag.

"Ryder, if you need me I'll be out helping my friend with something. I'm going to take my EMT truck." Marshall said.

" _Is everything alright Marshall?"_ Ryder asked through the speaker.

"Yeah. Nothing I can't handle." Replied Marshall.

" _Oook. Just be careful_."

"Will do Ryder." Said Marshall before ending the transmission.

"I wish the connection through _my_ speaker was that clear." Joey said rushing up beside him. "This piece of junk I have can barely pick up full sentences." Joey joked, causing Marshall to giggle.

An idea then clicked in the fire-pup's head and he smirked. _Then I know just the perfect gift for you._ Joey raised an eyebrow at the sight of Marshall's smirk but he decided not to question it.

The dallys reached the yard of the Lookout. "Gimme a sec while I go get changed." Marshall said, as he ran toward the Lookout entrance. When the entrance doors opened however, he slipped and tumbled into the Lookout. "I'm okay!" Joey heard him call out.

Joey gazed upon the lookout in amazement. This was his first time coming and seeing it in person. _Nice digs._ He thought.

Moments later Marshall emerged out of the exit, wearing his EMT gear and uniform. "Whataya think?" He asked.

"Pretty snazzy." Joey joked. Marshall gave a sheepish laugh before walking over to his pup-house. "So this is your EMT truck? It looks more like a… fire truck themed dog house." Joey said, causing Marshall to laugh.

Marshall walked up to the side of the pup house and barked out a certain pattern and the two watched as the pup house quickly shifted and transformed into an EMT vehicle.

Joey's jaw had dropped in surprise. "Whoa… That's pretty high-tech."

Marshall hopped into the driver's seat and reached a paw out for Joey. "Ready?" He asked. Joey smiled and reached up to take Marshall's paw and Marshall proceeded to pull him up. "Let's go, go, go." Marshall said, flipping on the sirens. He hit the gas and the two zoomed off. As they sped over the bridge, they unknowingly passed a curious German Shepherd who had been trailing them.

* * *

 _Where are they headed?_ Chase asked himself within his mind. He watched as the EMT truck got smaller and smaller in the distance. He contemplated running to his police cruiser and tailing them, but they were already a good distance away. He huffed in frustration. _I should just forget it. I have to meet Skye on Big View Trail in a few hours._ He sighed. _I guess I'll just get ready._ He proceeded to slowly walk towards the Lookout.

Once inside he made his way to the entertainment room and plopped himself on the couch. All of a sudden Chase didn't really feel too much like getting ready. He glanced at a few portraits that hung about on the walls. Particularly the ones that contained him and Marshall. He stared at a photo that showed him and Marshall during a game a tag. In the photo, Chase was smiling with a sock covering his nose. He was leaning on Marshall's chest with his two front paws. Marshall was laying flat on the grass on his back also smiling at the camera while blushing. Chase had always wondered why Marshall was blushing in the picture until Marshall told him of his secret crush. Chase reminisced on these memories as he fell into deep thought.

 _It's like we're not even close anymore... Ever since that day he ran out crying, we stopped hanging out and even playing together. I thought leaving him alone in his sadness would help him get over it quicker, but... is it possible that I should have been there to console him? To help him through it? Does he feel like I... was ignoring his feelings._

 _Does he... **HATE** me?_

* * *

The weather within Adventure Bay had changed rather quickly from what it was earlier. Light gray clouds inched across the fading blue sky and covered the sun. The two dalmatians quickly passed by many pedestrians and citizens while en route to their destination. going along the winding road, it didn't take too long for the two to reach Big View Trail. The two looked over to see a vehicle that had crashed into the side of the cliff with tinted windows.

"There! That's gotta be it." Said Joey.

Marshall nodded and pulled over to the side of the road. He and Joey wasted no time hopping out of the vehicle and rolling a stretcher from out of the back of the truck. They quickly approached the crashed car to see that the front of the vehicle was completely mashed in. Joey ran to the driver's side door and tried to open it.

"It's locked." He grunted. He stuck his nose against the window and tried to peer through it and see if anyone was inside. Joey tried to focus his eyes and see what he could through the tint. After focusing his eyes he was able to see a man lying across the driver's and passenger side seats. "I see someone, but… he looks unconscious..." Joey began to loudly bang on the window. "Hey! You ok in there?!" He called out. "We're emergency medical technicians here to help!"

The man twitched and groaned, but he did not get up.

"Do you have any tools that we can use to get inside?" Joey asked Marshall. "I don't want to break the window unless we have to." Marshall pondered for a second. He knew that if Rocky was here, he would definitely be able to get the door open.

"I don't think I do, but I'll check to be sure." Marshall answered. He ran to the back of his EMT truck and began to rummage through in search for anything that he could use.

While Marshall searched, Joey circled the vehicle and studied it. "Hmm this is a '98 model." He said to himself. He walked back to the driver's side of the car. "I wonder…" He turned onto his back and wiggled under the car. There was a compartment on the underside of the vehicle just below the driver's seat revealing a pattern of wires. "Just as I thought." Joey smirked. He began to rearrange a few wires and adjust a few others. Just as Marshall made his way back over to the crashed car, they both heard a click and all four doors of the car were unlocked. "Got it!" Joey smiled. He wiggled back from under the car to meet a surprised looking Marshall.

"How did you do that?" He asked Joey, mouth agape.

"The '98 year models of this type of car were recalled because getting to the unlocking mechanism of the car was so easy. Anyone could just unlock the car without keys as long as they knew how. A Lot of cars were stolen and broken into because of that manufacturing error." Joey explained before opening the car door. "Get the stretcher ready Marsh." Marshall did as he was told and rolled the stretcher closer. "I might need a paw to help get him out." Joey said. "Carefully pull his legs while I push him forward."

Marshall followed Joey's instructions. He was really taking charge and Marshall didn't mind. _He's got that natural leader instinct I like so much._ Marshall thought to himself. _He really knows how to take charge, just like…_ Marshall cut his thoughts off and shook his head.

 _Yeah, just like HIM…_


	3. Antipathy

**AN: Featured story: _"Pups and the Trouble with Love"_ by _KNDfreak_**

 **Go and check it out if you can.**

* * *

It didn't take the man long to finally come to consciousness. At first he woke up delirious with no idea what was going on, but was able to calm down soon after the two explained the situation. Marshall used his X-ray scanner to survey his condition and ensure that no bones were broken or fractured. Meanwhile Joey went to work treating the man's injuries. Joey was so quick and skilled. Marshall had gotten distracted plenty of times just watching him. Joey looked so serious while he worked and was definitely good at what he did. Noticing this, Marshall couldn't help but feel a little inferior to Joey, but he shook this feeling off and tended back to his own duties continuing his X-Ray.

"No broken bones here. Just a sprained leg and fractured knee bone." He said, putting away his device. "Do you feel any pain in any other areas besides the ones I just mentioned?"

The man took a moment to answer as if he was trying to discover the answer to that question himself.

"No. I don't think so." The man replied.

"We're going to send you to the hospital so they can help you with that bone fracture." Marshall told him. The man nodded while Joey proceeded to dab antiseptic on his wounds.

"Thank you so- OW…much." The man told them as he tried to withstand the burn of antiseptic going into a few of his cuts and scrapes.

"We're just lucky that we were able to get that door open." Said Joey, without turning his attention. "It's a good thing that your car was the same '98 model that allows manual entry."

The man chuckled at Joey's comment.

"Heh, yeah… The ironic part is that I was just on my way to the dealership to get that fixed. My insurance agent is never going to believe what happened." The man said, shaking his head.

"That reminds me… What did happen? How did you crash?" Joey asked as he finished bandaging up the man's wounds.

"Well… This is gonna' sound a bit _out there_ , but some guy in a purple suit and top hat came out of nowhere riding some kind of pet carrier and cut me off. It was so sudden that when I tried to avoid him, I lost control of the car." The man clenched his fist and began to speak angrily. "If I ever see that bastard again, I'm gonna' shove that carrier down his throat and ride him into the courthouse. There could have been women or children in the car. Selfish road hogs like that don't deserve a set of wheels."

"I'm with you on that." Joey agreed. "Hopefully that guy gets caught."

Just then a second EMT truck pulled up to the three.

"Looks like Dirk finally made it." Joey said.

A guy stepped out of the driver's side of the vehicle and approached them. He had gray eyes and looked to be in his mid teens surprisingly. His skin was a brown complexion and atop his head was jet black hair in a bushy yet tamed hairstyle. Despite his young appearance, he looked very serious and intimidating.

"What's the damage?" He asked facing Joey.

"The patient was involved in an accident. One which was caused by a reckless- er…driver. The crash gave him a fractured knee along with a sprained leg and minor cuts and scrapes." Joey motioned his paw to the patient's leg. "I recommend getting him to a hospital ASAP."

Dirk walked over to the patient and surveyed him, noticing the bandages and gauzes in various places.

"That's what I'm here for." said Dirk as he rubbed his chin. "Go get my stretcher. This one seems a little on the small side." He told Joey. Joey wasted no time running into the back of his partner's truck.

"I'll help too." Marshall called out following behind him. The two entered the back of the truck and grabbed a tall folded stretcher. "So that's Dirk? I didn't didn't picture him being so young." Marshall said while undoing the locks and latches on the stretcher.

Joey laughed. "I felt the same way when I first saw YOUR boss. He's even younger than Dirk."

"That's true. Though, Dirk looks kinda strict." Replied Marshall. Joey waved his paw and shook his head.

"Nahh. He just likes to look serious most of the time. He thinks it'll make people take him more seriously instead of looking at him for his age." Joey explained.

"He sure had me convinced." Said Marshall. The two rolled the stretcher out of the truck and up to Dirk, who was knelt down, checking over the patient's bandages.

"How are you with walking?" Dirk asked the patient as he stood up.

"I feel like I wouldn't get far on _this_ knee." He chucked. Dirk helped him off of Marshall's stretcher and secured him into his own.

"You're going to need a crutch to get around." He told him as he finished strapping him in.

"I've got that covered." Announced Marshall. "Crutch! Arf!" A short crutch popped out of Marshall's EMT pack and extended to full size. He then gave the crutch to Dirk.

"Wow that's pretty handy." Dirk said, giving Marshall a smirk before turning to Joey. "So this is the pup you've been telling me about, huh?"

"Yep, this is the _Marshmallow._ " Joey said turning to the other dalmatian. Marshall slightly blushed at his new nickname.

"Great to finally meet you." Dirk gave Marshall a small nod. "I was starting to wonder when we'd finally meet because this guy won't shut up about you." He said, pointing his thumb at Joey. Marshall blushed even harder, to which Joey noticed.

"Looks like my Marshmallow has a bit of strawberry in it." He joked, walking up to him. Marshall couldn't have gone more red after that comment, holding his head down as Dirk and the patient laughed.

 _How embarrassing…_ Marshall thought to himself. _It's times like this that I wish my fur was black…_

"Joey, wheel this guy into the back. I need you to keep him company back there on the ride downtown." Dirk said as he sat the crutch on the patient's lap. Joey slowly pushed the man up a ramp and into the back of the truck and secured the stretcher before walking back to Marshall, who had finally returned to his normal color.

"You coming along for the ride Marshmallow?" He asked. This time Marshall was able to smile without blushing.

"Whatever happened to just _Marsh?"_ He asked him.

"I like _Marshmallow_ better, because you're so soft and fluffy." He replied rubbing the top of Marshall's head. Marshall held his breath and tried to cover his cheeks as he felt another blush coming on.

"Ok then _Sloppy-Joey._ " Marshall joked back, making Joey laugh.

"Hey, not bad. I like it." Joey replied smiling and rubbing the back of his head. "By the way, great job. You looked really good out there. You make a good partner."

"Thanks, but YOU looked really great out there. You did most of the work. I didn't help that much..." Marshall said.

"Are you kidding? That was more of a team effort." Joey reassured him. "I couldn't have gotten things done this fast without you. I mean it." He smiled. "Stop being so modest."

Marshall started to smile, getting lost in his amber eyes. He could have sworn that Joey was blushing.

"You've got a little ketchup on your face Sloppy-Joey." Marshall laughed. Joey looked surprised at the comment.

"Uh… Yeah." He smiled shyly, looking away.

"C'mon you two. We need to get a move on." Dirk called to them from in front of the truck.

"You go on ahead." Marshall told Joey. "I have…something I need to do."

"Alright. See ya later then?"

"Of course." Marshall answered. Joey turned to walk away. "Wait." Marshall called out, making Joey turn around. "Uh… Can I borrow the speaker on your collar?" He asked, twiddling his paws." Joey looked confused.

"Hmm? What for?" Joey asked him. Marshall looked rather nervous.

"I can't tell you but...you can trust me." Said Marshall looking away. Joey removed his speaker and held it out to him.

"I trust you. Dirk has a backup for me in case he needs to contact me."

"Thanks." Marshall said, accepting the speaker from him. Joey ran off into the back of Dirk's EMT truck.

"Come meet me at our favorite spot later!" He yelled as he closed the doors. "All set!" He called to Dirk. Dirk started the engine and sirens before driving off. Marshall watched as they drove into the distance, silently left in his thoughts.

 _Heh, we're only friends and we already have pet names for each other. Not to mention a secret spot._ He giggled to himself. _I never thought I'd feel this way about someone again… I wonder_ … _how he feels about ME._ He stared at Joey's speaker in his paw. "Well, enough of that for now. Time to get to work on this."

* * *

Marshall arrived back at the lookout. He parked his EMT truck and transformed it back into his pup-house. He made his way into the lookout and saw that Skye and Everest were playing _Pup Pup Boogie_ along with Zuma, Rocky, and Rubble watching.

"Go Everest! You've got the moves!" Rubble shouted with a wink, causing Everest to blush when she looked at him. Everest was extremely good at the game and Rubble couldn't get over the sight of how graceful she looked dancing. She was already near to breaking Zuma's top score.

"No way… Where'd you learn to dance that good?" Zuma asked her in amazement. Everest simply giggled.

"Penguins taught me." She replied. Everyone including Skye stopped what they were doing and stared at her in silence. "What?" Everest looked around at their faces. "They're really good dancers." She explained. Everyone laughed.

"Those penguins could still learn a thing or two from _me_." Zuma said, with a cocky smirk. Rocky, Rubble, and Skye all groaned at his ego.

Marshall had took off his uniform and was on his way to the elevator when he heard someone call his name.

"Marshall!" Called Chase, walking up to the dalmatian. "You're back." He said smiling. Marshall looked at him as if he was crazy. It was certainly odd for the two to engage in a conversation these days.

"Yeah…" Marshall answered as he turned away, not even showing the slightest bit of interest.

"Where ya been buddy?" Chase asked, trying to keep up the small talk. Marshall stopped in his tracks. He almost scoffed at the word _buddy._

"Just out…" He stated whilst still not facing the shepherd. He tried to keep this conversation as short as possible.

"Really what happened." Chase inquired. Marshall frowned at this.

"I don't feel like talking right now. I'm kinda busy." Marshall replied in a somewhat annoyed tone.

"Oh…" Chase replied with a hint of disappointment. Marshall started to walk towards the elevator again. "Marshall wait…" Chase called out to him again. "I can't remember the last time we actually got to have a conversation that lasted more than three seconds... I miss you." Chase said. Marshall gritted his teeth trying to hold back a low growl. "I miss my friend. I miss playing together, telling each other secrets, and just having a good time…" Chase looked sincere.

 _You MISS me?! Did you miss me when I had to go through those agonizing weeks of pain?! Did you check on me or ask if I was ok? Where were you when I was all alone and broken huh? Answer that, german shep-turd!_ Marshall wanted to tell Chase out loud, but decided against it. He could feel a huge amount of hostility boiling up towards Chase and his expressions were starting to show it.

"I just want to hang out. Like we used to. Sometimes I feel like we aren't even friends anymore..." Chase continued, looking away sadly. He was hoping that Marshall would respond by assuring him that they were still friends no matter what, but to his dismay he received no response. "Me and Skye had to reschedule our picnic because it's supposed to rain… so, maybe you and me could do something."

"I told you, I'm busy…" Marshall answered. He began to squeeze Joey's speaker tightly in his paw.

"Maybe later then? Even if it's something simple like playing _Pup Pup Boogie_ or watching _Apollo the Movie,_ I don't mind." Marshall closed his eyes in frustration and thought about this for a moment.

 _Why is it NOW of all times that you all of a sudden want to spend time with me?_

Please Marshall. I just need to know that we're still friends…" Chase pleaded. Marshall took time to respond. The silence was long and awkward for Chase.

"New high score! Alright Everest!" The two heard Rubble yell from the other room.

"NOOOO!" Zuma cried. "I worked so hard for that scorwe!"

"At least we don't have to hear you gloat anymore." Chimed in Rocky.

"Marshall?" Chase said, still awaiting his answer.

"Fine." Marshall answered having still a hint of a tone. Chase's eyes lit up.

"Really?" He asked.

"Only AFTER I'm done with what I'm doing." Marshall said as he walked towards the elevator and stepped on.

"O-Ok. See you later then?" Chase asked as the elevator closed and ascended to the top. Chase huffed. "It looks like my suspicions were right… He DOES hate me. I could see it in his eyes…"

* * *

"He misses me? What a joke…" Marshall said aloud. He had to take a moment to calm himself down. He couldn't believe how hostile he had almost acted towards Chase. He was in a great mood before Chase spoke to him and now it's like he wanted to be far far away from this place. He inhaled and exhaled repeatedly before looking at Joey's speaker again. The sight of it seemed to calm him down. The elevator stopped on the top floor of the lookout. Marshall stepped out and looked across the room to see Ryder sitting in his chair, very engrossed into a game he was playing on his pup-pad.

"C'mon. Flap! Flap!" He yelled as he tapped his screen.

*smack*

"Oh come on! How could you not fit through those pipes?!" He screamed angrily. Marshall stood near him unnoticed and cleared his throat, grabbing Ryder's attention. The ten year old turned around in surprise. "Oh! Marshall. I didn't hear you come up." He said feeling a little embarrassed from his previous outbursts. "Did you finish helping your friend?"

"Yeah, he was called to an accident near Big View Trail. He's an EMT pup like me, so I decided to help him."

"Were there any casualties?" Ryder asked looking concerned.

"The guy involved suffered a fractured knee and had a few scrapes and bruises, but thankfully nothing too serious. We bandaged him up and sent him to the hospital." Marshall explained. Ryder looked relieved.

"That's good. It sounds like the two of you made a pretty good pair." Said Ryder. Marshall smiled shyly, looking away.

"Yeah… We did." He answers. Turning back to face Ryder, he smiles brightly.

"Ryder, can you do me a favor?"


	4. Amiability

_Marshall was out walking along Big View Trail, the place where he seemed to spend most of his days. He stopped at the lake that sat alongside the path of the trail. He watched the sun across the lake as it was proceeding to set. This spot was Marshall's favorite. Ever since Chase had broken his heart, Marshall would come to this spot alone. It seemed to take his mind off of everything. The scene was so calming. He would even skip a few stones across the lake at times. Marshall sighed watching the sunset. He started to think of Chase and began sobbing. The thought of Chase dating Skye was hard enough on him, but actually seeing it with his own eyes was slowly killing him. Marshall was so lost in his sadness that he didn't notice someone approaching from behind._

" _Hey… Is everything alright?" Asked a voice that surprised Marshall. Marshall turned around to face the voice and was met face to face with a dalmatian pup. Marshall's expression changed to an empty and unfriendly one._

" _Yeah…" Marshall answered, lying to the other dalmatian. He really wasn't in the mood to engage in a conversation with any strangers, especially if it was about personal things that he would rather not talk about._

" _I can see you're lying." The stranger told him. "Why are you crying?" He asked._

 _Marshall was quickly starting to become annoyed with the pup. These days he already wasn't in the best of moods nor as friendly as he used to be, and this pup certainly wasn't helping his mood by being nosey._

" _I'm not crying." He answered sharply, while he slyly tried to wipe his tears away._

" _Well it's good to know that those are tears of joy then." The stranger said with a sarcastic smile. Marshall was unfazed and continued to sit staring at the sunset. He really wanted to be alone to brood right now, but it seemed like this pup really had a hard time taking a hint. "It really is beautiful. I've only been in this town for a few weeks now, and this spot became my favorite the first moment I stopped here…" The pup said staring out at the sunset. Marshall discreetly rolled his eyes. "The peaceful serene sounds of the nature here. The great sunset view near the lake. The list goes on and on. What's your favorite part?" He asked Marshall._

" _Being alone?" Marshall replied in a bitter sarcastic tone._

" _Being alone is great… but isn't it better to be surrounded with friends and people who care about you?" He said, causing Marshall to scowl at him. Marshall then maintained his silence; trying his best not to shout at the pestering stranger. "Look… I can take a hint. I can tell I'm probably bugging you right now."_

 _(Yes! He CAN be taught!) Marshall said in his mind._

" _It's just, when I see someone sad and alone, I just feel like it's my duty to cheer them up."_

" _I am NOT a charity case!" Marshall growled. "I don't need anyone babying me or feeling sorry for me."_

 _The stranger sighed._

" _My bad… I didn't mean to come off that way. I'm just terrible when it comes to making friends in this town. What I meant to say was that I can't stand seeing others sad. I know what it's like to be in a place like that myself, so seeing others that way just makes me see a reflection of myself…" Silence soon engulfed the two. "I'll just leave now." The stranger said, turning his back to leave. "But whatever you're going through, don't let it get you too down. I can tell that you have so much happiness to give." The stranger smiled slightly and proceeded to walk off. Marshall bit his lip. He couldn't help but feel guilty and ashamed of himself. Look at what he had become. He used to be one of the most friendliest pups in Adventure Bay and now, now he didn't so much as shoot a smile towards anyone these days. Heartbreak and depression had changed him into someone else. Someone he didn't even realize he was becoming._

" _Wait…" Marshall called out to the stranger, making him turn around. "You said that this was your favorite spot… so you should be here to enjoy it." The stranger looked rather surprised at Marshall's change in b_ ehavior.

" _Are you sure?" The pup replied. "I understand if you want your privacy."_

" _It's alright. Maybe I could use a friend right now…" Answered Marshall. The pup then smiled and made his way over to Marshall's side. Marshall still felt rather uncomfortable around company, but tried his best to brush it off. As the two watched the sunset, before long they found themselves casually chatting and found that they had quite a lot in common._

" _C'mon," the stranger laughed. "Let me hear you. I promise I won't laugh."_

" _It's just not something I like to do around everyone…" Marshall answered nervously._

" _Well it's a good thing I'm only one person." The stranger smirked. "Go ahead. I'm sure your voice is great." Marshall hesitated before finally giving in._

" _Ok… but if you laugh, I swear I'll push you into the lake."_

" _I promise." The pup said, crossing his heart._

 _Marshall looked around to make sure that no one else was watching or listening. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath._

" _I have this vacancy in my heart!_

 _There's just something that's always tearing me apart!_

 _I don't know why I ever let you go!_

 _Now there's no one to bear- with me!"_

 _Marshall stopped singing and opened one of his eyes. The stranger sat there with his eyes wide._

" _That was great! Vacancy by Kylee? I love that song." He started clapping his paws._

" _Thanks…" Marshall blushed nervously. "It just recently became one of my favorites."_

" _I'm not really that good at singing… or rather not good at singing at all." The stranger said laughing. "Where'd you learn how to sing like that?"_

" _I don't know." Marshall shrugged. "I guess I just kinda taught myself."_

" _Well you're a awesome teacher." He said, making Marshall blush._

" _I'm not THAT good." Marshall slightly grinned, rubbing the back of his head._

" _Well you're WAY better than me. If I sang, you would probably end up being a deaf dog." The pup joked, making Marshall laugh. Laughing was something that Marshall hadn't done in so long and it felt great to him._

" _Finally I made you laugh."_

" _Was that your plan all along?" Marshall said._

" _Maybe. I knew you had a great smile uh… what's your name by the way?"_

" _Marshall."_

" _Marshall? Sweet! Marshall, you can call me Joey."_

* * *

Chase walked his way back into the entertainment room. Everest was now going up against Zuma in _Pup Pup Boogie_. Zuma wanted to prove who the real champion was by beating Everest and the two seemed to be neck and neck. Chase sat down beside Rocky. He was still in his thoughts thinking about Marshall.

 _By the way he was acting… I'm not sure if we'll ever be back to normal._ He thought to himself. _The way he acts around that Joey guy is same way he used to act around me._

Rocky looked over and noticed that Chase looked deep in thought.

"Is everything alright Chase?"

"Huh?" Chase said, snapping out of his thoughts.

"Chase is just really bummed that we didn't get to have our picnic today." Said Skye. "Don't worry Chase. We'll just have it another day this week."

"Yeah." Was all Chase could utter out in response. His ears perked up as the elevator could be heard descending in the distance. He hopped out of the seat and rushed towards the elevator. Marshall was smiling with closed eyes as he stepped out of the elevator.

"Marshall." Chase called to him. Marshall opened his eyes to see Chase standing in front of him which quickly made his smile fade. "Are you all done? With whatever you were doing?"

"For now, but i'm tired; so I'm going to take a nap." Marshall answered.

"What?! But you said that we would hang out." Chase said. Marshall huffed.

"How are we supposed to even watch this movie when the others are using the TV right now?" Marshall asked. Chase pondered this question for a second.

"We can use the TV in the PAW Patroller."

"Fine." Marshall said, before walking away.

"Where are you going?"

"To the PAW Patroller? Just get the movie." Marshall answered sharply.

"O-Ok…" Chase answered before running back into the entertainment room. Marshall walked outside the doors of the Lookout to be greeted by the cold rain.

 _So much for watching the sunset today…_ Marshall walked to the PAW Patroller and entered, shaking his fur dry. He sat down on the seat in front of the wide screen and sighed. "I'd REALLY rather be sleep right now."

* * *

"Chase look! Everest is beating Zuma!" Yelled Skye. Surely enough Zuma was getting his tail handed to him on a silver platter and he didn't like it one bit. Zuma looked sweaty and nervous.

 _How… how can she be THIS good? I've been playing this game WAY longer than her… I'm supposed to be the champ!_ Zuma thought to himself. He attempted to do a tailspin, but somehow slipped and landed on his back.

"And the winner is… NOT Zuma!" Rubble shouted making everyone laugh.

"Your bragging rights have been revoked." Rocky joked.

"Looks like you're number one now Everest." Said Skye. Chase would have been more impressed with this situation if other things weren't on his mind. He approached the movie rack and tried to locate the movie he had in mind.

"Let's see… The Barking Dead… The Little Mer-pup… Play Your Symphony… Chasing Tails… Like it Never Happened… Cartoon Millionaire… " Chase huffed. "Rocky should really get back on his job of organizing these." Chase continued to look long and hard. "Here it is. Apollo The Movie: Super pup Origins." Chase picked up the case and opened it to find that there was no disc inside. "Ugghhh!" He turned around to face the others. Everest and Rubble were now in a team battle with Rocky and Skye while Zuma sat on the couch pouting at his previous defeat. "Where is the Apollo movie disc?!"

"If it's not in the case then I would check the DVD player. You know Rubble watches that movie like three times a day." Rocky answered while keeping his concentration on the game.

"Hey, you can't deny that it's the best movie ever. You can't watch it just once." Rubble defended.

Chase walked over to check the DVD player and surely enough, the disc he was looking for was inside. After placing the disc back inside its case, he proceeded to walk out. The rain was relentlessly pouring down now. Chase dashed to the PAW Patroller as drop by drop intensely splashed all around him. He entered to see Marshall on the seats slumped down with a bored expression.

"I got the movie." Chase said, waving the case in the air. Marshall paid him no attention and didn't even offer a response. Chase sighed and entered the disc into the player. He walked over to sit by Marshall as the player tried to read the disc. When he sat by Marshall, Marshall instantly moved over a couple of spaces, distancing himself from the shepherd. He was still staring straight ahead with that uninterested expression.

 _Marshall… do you really hate me this much to not even acknowledge me anymore?_ Chase said within his mind, while staring at the dalmatian. Chase soon found himself lost deep within his thoughts again. _You were one of my best friends. Why are you treating me like this?_ Chase didn't want to admit it, but this was really starting to get to him.

The theme for Apollo began to play as the words _Insomni-act Productions_ appeared on the wide screen.

" _What is a hero?"_ Spoke the narrator from the movie. " _Or rather, what makes a hero? What truly defines them? Is it courage? Love? Strength? Determination? All can be defined as heroic traits and all can be connected and draw out power from one another._ The scene changes to an abandoned town. " _This is the tale of a hero… and how that hero came to be. In an abandoned town, a mad scientist_ _experiments on helpless animals, trying to create a new living breed. A creature… of destruction."_

As the movie goes on, Marshall's bored expression fades and he begins to get really engrossed into what's happening, watching from the edge of his seat.

The mad scientist cackles as he stares at a frightened gray german shepherd pup " _I have endowed in you the strength of a rhinoceros. The speed of a cheetah. The flight of an eagle and so much more. YOU will be MY weapon of destruction! You will kill! You will destroy! You will make this world mine!"_

By the middle of the movie both Chase and Marshall were watching the movie with wide eyes and anticipation.

"I can't believe I waited so long to watch this." Chase thought out loud.

"Yeah I know. It's really good." Marshall answered without realizing.

Apollo turned to face his friend Lance, a white pit-bull pup.

" _Apollo you're… flying..."_ Lance, spoke with wide eyes.

" _Lance… you're my best friend. Thank you. It was because of you that I was able to come this far. Because of you, I gained my memory back and I realized that I'm not just some tool for destruction."_ Apollo closed his eyes. " _I'm sorry for keeping all of this from you. For not telling you sooner. I was afraid you'd think I was a monster."_ Lance ran up to Apollo and held him tightly.

" _I don't care what you are… you're my best friend! Please… don't go! Don't leave me!"_ Tears were starting to form in his eyes.

" _I'm sorry… I have to make things right…"_ Apollo released himself from Lance's grip and quickly flew off.

Chase was watching the scene with tears in his eyes. He looked over to Marshall and saw that he had tears as well.

Over half an hour passed and the movie had ended. The credits began to play across the wide screen.

"That was a great movie." Chase said.

"Yeah! I see why Rubble watches it so much now." Marshall answered. Chase didn't realize it until now, but he and Marshall had actually been having small conversations and laughing together throughout the movie. Not only that, but it seemed Marshall was actually responding to him now and he looked happy. Chase smiled.

 _I guess the movie really distracted his feelings toward me._ Chase thought. He decided to take a chance. "So… What do you wanna do next? Chase asked.

"Hmm…" Marshall pondered. "I guess we could join the others in Pup Pup Boogie."

"Let's do it." Chase replied. "I gotta warn you though; don't expect me to take it easy on you." He joked.

"Oh it would be in your best interest to play your hardest if you wanna beat me." Marshall shot back. The two walked out of the PAW Patroller to find the rain had stopped. Marshall's pup tag then went off.

" _Marshall, I've finished it now. I'm heading to the ground floor to give it to you."_ Announced Ryder from the dalmatian's pup tag _._ Chase watched as excitement took over Marshall's features. Marshall instantly took off running into the lookout with Chase following behind. By the time the two entered, Ryder was already exiting the elevator. Marshall walked up to Ryder as Chase stood out of sight to see what this was all about. Ryder held his fist out to Marshall and unclenched it revealing a pup tag. This particular tag was white with a red cross in the middle. Marshall gasped with excitement as his eyes sparkled.

"It's perfect Ryder!"

"I made sure to align it with the same frequency as the speaker you gave me. I even built in some of the speaker's parts into the tag." Ryder said smiling. "I've already tested it and the sound comes through perfect and clear. I even added a extra feature so that your friend can specifically contact you."

"Thanks so much Ryder, you're the best!" Marshall jumped onto Ryder and assaulted him with licks. "I'm going to go give it to him now." Marshall accepted the pup tag from Ryder and ran out of the lookout. He was so full of excitement that he didn't even notice Chase was standing there listening the entire time.

Marshall hopped into his fire truck and started the engine. He was about to drive off until Chase ran up to the truck.

"Marshall, where are you going? I thought we were going to hang out some more."

"Sorry Chase." Marshall said, rubbing the back of his head. "I really have something important to do. We can hang out more later." He waved to Chase before driving off. Chase watched as Marshall's truck disappeared over the bridge.

 _He's not fooling me… He's going to go see that Joey guy. He's choosing seeing him over hanging out with ME. We were having such a great time. He was even talking to me again._ Frustration was starting to build up in the shepherd. Without even thinking, he hopped into his own vehicle and took off, pursuing the dalmatian.

* * *

 **AN: My next update was supposed to be for "October the 31st" but unfortunately I lost the file and have to rewrite the entire chapter over due to some mediocre mistake... you don't know how frustrating that is...**

 **Anyway... as a little "easter egg" in this chapter; some of the movie names that were mentioned are actual stories by authors from this site. Just a little shoutout to those authors. ;) "The Little Mer-pup" is actually one of my titles. Back in December I came up with the idea to make a ChasexMarshall story similar to the plot of Disney's _The Little Mermaid_ but completely different. I decided to scrap the idea because I figured that it just may not work, but I may upload a prologue just to see what you all think about it.**

 **Thanks again for your continued support. Any and all feedback and reviews are welcome. They really help me improve :)**

 **Till next time, PEACE!**


	5. Generosity

Chase did his best to keep up with Marshall, all the while trying to stay a distance behind and out of sight. There were a few close calls where he almost had gotten separated due to stop lights and moments where he had almost been spotted due to low traffic.

Marshall still had the same smile plastered on his face. He was still on a high of excitement from watching the Apollo movie.

"I wonder if Joey has seen the movie yet." He said to himself. "Come to think of it, I haven't even heard him mention anything about Apollo yet. Does he even like Apollo? Meh I guess I'll find out later." Marshall reached for his radio dial and turned it on. His ears perks up at the piano score being played within the song. "Hey I love this song." He starts to sing along.

" _I've been looking for the answer... somewhere_

 _I couldn't see that it was right there,_

 _But now I know what I didn't know._

 _Because you li-ve and breathe, Because you make me believe in myself when nobody else can help"_

Chase could see Marshall moving his head along with the music and despite how he was feeling, couldn't help but chuckle at him. Marshall looked so goofy to him right now.

"That Marshall…" He sighed while shaking his head. It's been awhile since Chase actually got to see Marshall act like that. He was back to his normal self after all and Chase was happy to have him back.

Marshall pulled up to Big View Trail and parked his truck at the bottom. Chase parked a good distance away from him, so he wouldn't notice his police truck.

"Aww man, I'm so late." Marshall said to himself, as he ran up the trail. "The sunset is going to start any minute now."

Marshall continued to travel further and further up the trail until he eventually came to a secluded spot with a large hill running down to an area with a lake. Once he ran down the hill, he could see his favorite dalmatian come into view. He was staring at the sun's reflection on the lake, seemingly in a another world.

 _He's here!_ Marshall thought as he smiled. _Maybe I can sneak up on him._

Marshall stopped running and began to walk slowly, taking quiet steps. He wanted to be quiet as a mouse and he knew how good he was when it came to being stealthy. He crouched low to the ground and began crawling toward his unsuspecting victim. Once he positioned himself right behind Joey, he adjusted his stance and prepared himself to pounce.

"You finally made it huh, Marshmallow." Joey said, without moving an inch.

"Huh? How'd you know?" Marshall asked.

"You may need to practice on your stealth a little bit more." Joey faced him with a smile. Marshall walked over and sat by his side.

"What do you mean? I was quiet as a mouse." Marshall defended.

"More like _noisy as an elephant._ " Joey joked, making Marshall pout. "It's not your fault. My ears are just really keen." Joey said, lifting his ears up and down.

Marshall laughed and grabbed Joey's ears. "Yeah, with ears like these. You could hear the earth turn."

"They're the same size as yours, you know." They both laughed.

"So, how's the patient?" Marshall asked.

"He's great. Dirk said we both did a great job. Of course having you with me made all the difference." Admitted Joey, causing Marshall to smile wide.

Chase was watching and listening to the entire conversation from behind a nearby tree, looking very displeased.

Marshall and Joey both stared out over the lake. Both of them taking in the peace and serenity of everything.

"Our special spot." Joey began speaking out of the blue. "The spot where we first met…"

"Yeah." Marshall smiled.

"I can still remember how abrupt you were at first. You really hurt my feelings." Joey chuckled.

"I-I was just in a bad place then. That's all. Sorry…" Marshall replied nervously.

A light breeze began to blow through the air.

"Even still… I'm really glad I met you." Joey said, still facing the lake. "You're an amazing pup, and so kind-hearted. I've never met anyone like you." Marshall looked over to him and was met with another smile, but noticed something else on his company's face. A blush. As if it were a domino effect, a little blush found its way onto Marshall's face as well.

"Oh…" Marshall started as he looked away. "Before I forget, I brought you a gift."

"A gift?" Joey looked surprised.

Marshall pulled out a white pup-tag with a red cross. Chase focused his eyes from the distance and realized that this was the same pup-tag that Ryder handed Marshall just before he left from the Lookout. Marshall held the pup-tag out to Joey, still blushing.

"You told me about how your old speaker always had static… so I had this made for you." Joey stared at the pup-tag with wide eyes, speechless. "It's like my pup-tag, except it has the same frequency as your old speaker. Now you'll be able to hear your emergency calls more clearly and… you can also contact me."

"Marshall…" Was all Joey could utter out at the moment. He looked up at his dalmatian pal. "You really didn't have to do all that."

A frown appeared on Marshall's face. "You don't like it, do you…"

"No!" Joey interjected. "I love it! It's just, you really didn't have to go through all that trouble."

"It wasn't any trouble… I really wanted to do it for you, though Ryder did all the work after all." Marshall replied.

Joey accepted the pup-tag from Marshall's paw and hugged him tightly. "Thanks Marshall, it's the best gift I've ever gotten. You're the best. No, you're even better than the best. I love hanging with you." Marshall, though caught off guard with the action at first, lifted his arms and returned his friend's hug. He felt so warm like this. So safe. He never wanted to let go.

"I'd do anything for you…" He unmistakably said aloud.

As the embrace was coming to an end, he looked up into Joey's eyes. Those amber eyes. Joey looked into his as well. They were both blushing, and as if out of nowhere, their muzzles slowly inched closer to one another until…

Joey's ears perked up. He turned his head and was met with a snarling shepherd standing clear out in the distance with rage burning brightly in his eyes. Marshall turned in his direction, eyes opening wide in shock.

"Chase?!"

* * *

 **AN: I can see that a ton of people are reading each of my stories (every chapter) by looking at the traffic stats; but the reviews are very little to none...**

 **I feel like I'm doing something wrong here...**


	6. Dissonance

Chase hid behind one of the trees that surrounded the lake area, quietly watching the two dalmatians. His ears were perked and he could hear every word being said between the two very clearly. He watched as Marshall pulled out a pup-tag designed white with a red cross.

 _That's the same pup-tag Ryder gave to him earlier._ The shepherd thought to himself.

"You told me about how your old speaker always had static… so I had this made for you. It's like my pup-tag, except it has the same frequency as your old speaker. Now you'll be able to hear your emergency calls more clearly and… you can also contact me."

Chase looked closely at Marshall's face and could see that he was blushing.

"Marshall… You really didn't have to do all that." He heard Joey say. He watched as Marshall's smile faded into a frown.

"You don't like it, do you…"

"No! I love it! It's just, you really didn't have to go through all that trouble."

"It wasn't any trouble… I really wanted to do it for you, though Ryder did all the work after all."

Chase watched as Joey took the pup-tag from Marshall's paw and quickly hugged him.

"Thanks Marshall, it's the best gift I've ever gotten. You're the best. No, you're even better than the best. I love hanging with you."

Marshall returned Joey's hug.

"I'd do anything for you…" Marshall said. Upon hearing this, Chase clenched his teeth.

As the embrace was coming to an end, Marshall and Joey looked into each other's eyes and blushed.

 _Marshall… Why are you looking at him like that? Why are you looking at him with those eyes?!_ Not too long after, Chase watched as the two's muzzles slowly moved closer to one another. _Why… Why is this happening?!_ Before Chase even realized it, he had moved from behind the cover of the tree. He stood out in the distance growling.

As Joey's lips were about to connect with Marshall's, his ears twitched to the sound of growling and he turned his head to the sight of the angry german shepherd. Marshall, wondering why Joey had stopped his advance, looked into the same direction.

"Chase?!"

"So this is what you had to leave for? This is why you couldn't continue hanging out with me?!" Chase bellowed as he walked up to the two.

Marshall was dumbfounded. "Chase, how? Why? Where? What are you doing here? How did you even-"

"Answer me! You blew me off just to come here and lock lips with this guy?"

"Why do you even care? What I do on my personal time is MY business. Did you FOLLOW me here?"

Even though he was filled with anger; at this statement, Chase's cheeks began to turn pink. He couldn't believe he blew his cover without thinking like that.

"Uh… Marsh, who is this?" asked Joey, with a look of confusion of his own.

"This is Chase. He's one of my teammates in the PAW Patrol." Marshall said with frustration clear in his voice.

Joey rubbed the back of his head, looking at Chase. "Ohh. Nice to meet you then. My name's Jo-"

"I don't care who you are!" Chase snapped. Joey was taken aback.

"Chase, what is your problem?! You can't talk to my friend like that!" Marshall hollered back.

"Friend?" Chase scoffed. "You don't see me running around trying to cross tongues with MY friends." Chase retorted, causing Marshall to blush.

"I… that's none of your business!" Marshall said, in an attempt to defend himself.

"So I guess that's how you treat all your friends, huh?" Chase fired back. Marshall's blood was starting to boil, bringing back all of his forgotten anger towards Chase. Bringing back his bitter feelings of the shepherd.

"You know, for someone who has a girlfriend, you sure have been focusing on ME a lot lately." Marshall said. He knew exactly what to say to get under Chase's skin and as expected, the shepherd's cheeks developed a little color while his face twisted up in anger.

Joey watching this, was starting to notice a pattern here. "Uh…" He began to speak up, in the midst of the tension. "I think I'd better go Marsh. You two seem like you have a lot to talk about."

"What? No! We haven't even finished watching the sunset." Marshall replied.

"That's right! You should just get outta here!" Said Chase, causing Marshall to glare at him.

"Don't worry, we'll just do it again another time." Replied Joey with a light smile as he proceeded to walk away. Chase's eyes followed the dalmatian with every step. "Just call me when you get the chance. You can do that now." He said, holding up his new pup-tag. With that, Joey was off.

"What is your problem?! Why did you follow me here?! Why are you acting like this?!" Marshall turned to Chase, bombarding him with questions.

"Why did YOU blow me off?!" Chase asked in return. "We were having such a fun day hanging out, and you cut it short to be with someone else!"

"I had already made plans before agreeing to hang out with you!" Marshall said. "Why are you so bent on hanging out with me lately?! I haven't existed to you for sometime, so why now, huh?! Why is it so important that I give you all my attention?!"

Chase hesitated at this question. Why indeed? Why was he so bent on Marshall spending time with him? What was his reasoning for acting out like this? For acting so possessive.

"Because…" Chase started. "Because I want to help you!"

"What?" Marshall's expression shifted to clear confusion upon Chase's answer. "Help me with what?"

"I want to help you, because this isn't you, Marshall. We've been friends for the longest and I know that you aren't attracted to males." Marshall's mouth dropped at this statement. "You're just going through a phase. Males are meant to be with females, that's just how it is. Just look at me and Skye. You being with other males… You liking other males… it's weird… It's awkward… and it's disgusting… IT'S JUST NOT RIGHT!"

Silence fell between the two like a calm before the storm. The only sound that could be heard was the light whistle of the wind. Marshall lowered his head.

"And to think… I made a promise to myself that I'd never let myself get hurt by you again." Marshall said, catching Chase by surprise. Marshall laughed. "This is what I get for accepting you back into my life, right?" The dalmatian laughed and laughed as he continued to hold his head down. "I'm so stupid. Hey, do you not want me to be happy at all? Is that it? I'm weird, awkward, and disgusting." Marshall's expression and tone quickly changed to a serious one. "Well if that's how you feel… then why don't you just STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Marshall screamed out, looking up with angry teary eyes. Chase was a little shocked with the reaction. Marshall's voice grew shaky as he continued. "No one asked you to follow me here. No one asked you to spend time with me. No one even asked you to be my friend, so if you're so _disgusted_ by someone like me… Then STAY OUT OF MY LIFE!" With that last sentence, Marshall turned around. "I HATE YOU!" He yelled out before running out of the area and heading back to the beginning of the trail.

Chase stood there speechless, except within his mind. _Why… Why did I say those things to him?_ Chase fell to the ground and covered his head. _Why did l come out of hiding? Why did I act like that? I tried so hard to fix our friendship and now I've broken it all over again._ In Chase's mind, he could see a picture frame with Marshall's image shattering to pieces. _Why… Why am I like this?_

 _Why can't I stop hurting him?_


	7. Allegory

**AN: An update for _Vacancy_ in less than a week? That's rare... I must really be getting into the story now.**

 **As always, I want to thank you all for your continued support. Enjoy. :)**

* * *

The sun had completely set below the horizon now. Chase laid in the grass where his verbal confrontation with Marshall took place not too long ago. He continued to mentally beat himself up for the hurtful things that he had said and for the way that he had acted.

 _I took a step forward and then set myself two steps back… I caused him to hate me again…_ As he was deep in his thoughts, his pup-tag began to light up before a female's voice began to come out of the speaker.

"Chase? Where are you? You and Marshall just left out of nowhere… Is everything ok?" Skye asked as she stared out the lookout doors worriedly. Chase didn't respond. He just continued to lie there. " _Chase? Hello?"_

"I'm ok Skye… I just went out to Big View Trail to get some fresh air." Chase answered.

" _Oh… Ok."_ Skye replied. "That reminds me, I checked the weather and tomorrow will be a perfect day to have our picnic." She said, closing her eyes with glee.

" _That sounds great…"_ She heard Chase say. She could sense something was wrong within his tone of voice.

"Are you sure everything's alright Chase? You sound a little… sad; in fact, you've seemed a little different all day." Skye said, her worried expression returning.

" _Yeah, don't mind me."_ Chase said, trying to change the tone of his voice. "I just have a lot on my mind right now." He forced a smile.

"Oh… Well if you feel like talking about it, I'm here to listen." She assured him as she turned her gaze to the floor.

" _Thanks Skye, but I'll be fine. I just need to relax, that's all."_ Chase said.

"...Ok. I'll see you when you get back then. I'd like to watch a movie with you and snuggle." Skye said, with a mischievous grin before lightly blushing.

"That sounds great. I'll see you then…"

" _Love you, Chase."_ The sound of a kiss could be heard through Chase's speaker.

"Love you too, Marshall." Said Chase in return. He quickly realized his blunder as his eyes shot open. Luckily, Skye had missed the last part of the sentence and hung up. Chase's cheeks turned to a rosy pink. _That didn't mean anything… I just said Marshall in place of Skye, because I was thinking about the situation between me and Marshall._ Chase thought, trying to convince himself. In any case, he was just relieved that Skye didn't hear.

Going back into his thoughts, he recalled his conversation with Marshall from a month ago.

 _"Marshall, no… Just no. I love Skye… and even if I didn't, you're a guy. That's just… not right to me. It's just… weird. I won't hold anything against you for it, but I can't feel that way about you."_

 _"Just forget it! Forget this whole conversation! I knew it was a mistake to try and tell you… It was stupid of me to even try!"_

As Chase recalled these moments, his ears suddenly picked up the light sound of footsteps in the grass. He turned his head and caught a glimpse of white fur and black spots and quickly got up. "What do you want?" Chase asked in a very annoyed tone. There standing before him was Joey.

"I need to talk to you." Joey said.

"Talk to me? What could we possibly have to talk about? There's nothing good that I want to say to y-"

"It's about Marshall." Joey interrupted, surprising Chase.

"Marshall? What about Marshall?"

Joey walked a bit closer to Chase. "I want to give you a chance." Joey said.

Chase raised his eyebrow before backing up. "Give me a chance? What are you talking about?" He asked.

"I know… I know that you love Marshall." Joey answered, causing Chase's eyes to widen in surprise.

"I have a girlfriend. Marshall's just a friend to me. I don't like males. Not in _that_ way. So who are you to try and tell me who I love?" Chase replied, slightly frustrated.

"Why else would you spy on us, not once, but twice?"

"Huh?" Said Chase, surprised.

"I know you were there… that time at the restaurant." Joey answered. Chase's eyes widened. "I didn't know who you were at the time or why you were watching us, but I decided to let you be."

"I… I was just… I was just trying to see if people really enjoyed the food." Chase said, trying to defend himself, but mentally smacked himself after realizing what a ridiculous excuse that was.

Joey sighed at Chase's response. "Chase… That's your name, right?" Joey said, as he looked Chase in the eye. "...I love Marshall." Chase felt his body grow cold at Joey's last words. "I can tell… that you love Marshall too. I could tell just by watching the way you two interact."

Chase stared at the ground. "Marshall's like a brother to me… I'm just protective of him. That's all." Chase answered.

Joey closed his eyes. "Let me tell you a story. A story of two friends…" As Joey spoke, Chase turned his attention back to him. "There was a dalmatian and a german shepherd… The two were the best of friends, inseparable. One day, the shepherd approached the dalmatian with a deep secret. The shepherd told the dalmatian… that he loved him. The dalmatian, shocked and confused by the sudden confession began to freak out. The shepherd took a chance. He hugged his friend… and kissed him. The dalmatian became enraged. He then pushed the shepherd to the ground and said terrible things before running away from him. The shepherd was heartbroken by his friend's reaction. His friend, who pushed him down and said horrible things to him… Who said they could no longer be friends. Afterwards, the shepherd didn't show his face to the dalmatian again."

As Joey continued, Chase started to notice many similarities within his story. "Weeks passed by and the dalmatian couldn't stop thinking about the shepherd. He kept telling himself that he was only thinking of the shepherd out of guilt for his own words and actions, but he also thought of the kiss. Thinking about the kiss didn't bring him anger or resentment towards the shepherd. Instead, it made him want to see the shepherd… To give him a kiss of his own… To make everything right again. That same day, the dalmatian began to come to terms with himself. The feelings that he had kept deep down for the shepherd were strong and he needed to see him right away. When the dalmatian made it to the shepherd's house, he found that he was gone. The shepherd's owner had moved a week before… The dalmatian was guilt ridden and torn apart. He would never be able to apologize. He would never be able to tell the shepherd of his true feelings…"

As Joey finished his story, Chase stared at him intently. Joey lowered his head. "That dalmatian… was me." he said, surprising Chase. He then turned his attention back to Chase. "Marshall has already confessed to you once before, hasn't he?" Chase was silent at Joey's question. "I could feel it. The way you two argued; the scene was so familiar. That's why I know how you really feel. I was just like you. That's why… I want to give you a chance. A chance to come to terms with your true feelings. If you can't do that much, then I'll make Marshall mine." Chase was speechless. "Marshall reminds me so much of him… To me, Marshall is a second chance." Joey finished.

Chase looked to the ground once more. "I already told you-"

"Lie to me, lie to Marshall, even lie to yourself." Joey said interrupting him. "But what you can't lie to… is your own heart." Joey's words caught Chase off guard. Joey turned his back to Chase. "I'm giving you the chance that I wish I could have had back then… I don't want you to suffer like I did. Don't waste this opportunity. The vacancy you created will be filled in a matter of time." With those last words from Joey, Chase watched as he walked off into the trail until he was out of sight.

Chase sat in silence for a while before falling back onto the grass. "He really irritates me." He said. "Sticking his nose where it doesn't belong… and then comparing himself to me." Chase breathed a heavy frustrated sigh before closing his eyes.

"There are no _true feelings._ "


	8. Reveries (Part 1)

**_AN: I had to split up this chapter. I tend to do that a lot. 5 and 6 were supposed to be one whole chapter together and 7,8, and 9 are supposed to be one as well. I don't like my chapters to be too long._**

 ** _Thank you everyone for your continued support and encouragement._** _Vacancy_ ** _has become my most popular story on here and Wattpad. (I honestly thought that spot would go to my Apollo story)._**

 ** _Anywhooo, enjoy this chapter that I made within the midst of my crappy life. :)_**

* * *

Skye stared out of the lookout doors waiting for Chase to return. It had been hours since she had last spoke with him and she was now getting worried.

 _Chase, where are you…_

The lookout elevator descended and off stepped Ryder. He immediately noticed Skye waiting by the lookout doors and became curious.

"Skye? Is everything alright?" He asked her.

Skye turned to face him in response. "Ryder, Chase and Marshall still haven't come back." She answered.

Ryder looked at her a little confused. "Really? Chase isn't here yet?" He placed a hand on his chin. "Marshall called and asked me could he stay the night at Katie's, but I at least thought Chase would be back by now… Have you tried calling him?" He asked Skye.

"I tried, but there was no answer." She told him. Ryder turned around and headed back for the elevator.

"Just relax, Skye. I'll try to contact him from my pup-pad." Ryder told her. He stepped onto the elevator and rode it back to the top. Skye still couldn't help but worry. Crime in Adventure Bay was really low at the moment, but she still didn't like the fact of not knowing where Chase was and not knowing how to get in touch with him.

"Maybe Marshall has seen him." She says aloud. She quickly taps her pup-tag, watching as it lights up. "Marshall, are you there?"

Marshall, who didn't feel like talking to Skye, silently sighed and rolled his eyes. " _Marshall?!"_ She called again. Marshall still refused to respond. After numerous tries, Skye assumed he was sleep and decided that it was no use.

"Finally." Marshall said to himself. At that moment, Katie made her way into the room, all dressed in her night clothes, which consisted of a short white tank top and pink boy shorts.

"Cali's sound asleep now. So what made you want to come over, Marshall?" She asked.

Marshall tilted his head down. "Well… you know, it's just been a while since we've talked and I thought tonight would be a good night." He answered. During the time of Marshall's heart break a month ago, he would spend the night with Katie at times. Katie always offered so much support. She was always there for Marshall and proved to be a great friend. Marshall shared so much with Katie and she was very good at keeping secrets. Looking at Marshall's expression, she could now tell that something was wrong.

"So how's everything with _you-know-who_ going?" She asked. A light smile placed on her features.

Marshall hesitated. "Umm… Well... We almost… kissed today."

Katie began to squeal. "Ohhh that's so cute." She said unable to hide her excitement. "So why _almost?"_ She asked, curiously.

"We were interrupted… by Chase."

"Chase?!" Katie sat down with wide eyes, her curiosity increasing more-so by the second. "How did Chase get involved in this? I thought you two weren't talking."

"Well…" Marshall started. "He came to me yesterday and said that he missed me and wanted to spend time with me. At first, I tried to just ignore him, but he wouldn't give up, so I eventually just gave in and said yes." Katie nodded her head as Marshall continued to talk. "After hanging out with him, my angry feelings toward him started to change and I was really enjoying myself. When I went to meet up with Joey, he secretly followed me."

 _I never thought that Chase would be the stalking type._ Katie thought to herself.

"Me and Joey shared a moment at our special spot and as we were about to kiss Chase came out of hiding. He was mad at me for leaving him behind and he was rude to Joey."

 _Sounds like jealousy!_ Katie sung in her mind.

"He told me that this wasn't me… and then he called me disgusting."

Katie gasped as she covered her mouth. "Marshall that's horrible. How could Chase say something like that."

"It's my fault." Marshall said. "I'm the one who let him get close to me again. It was just something about him. He was trying so hard… so hard to let me know that he still existed. At one point, it even seemed like he…" Marshall stopped and let out a quick sigh before shaking his head. "...anyway, that's what happened."

"Marshall, don't you feel like Chase was acting a little jealous?" Katie asked him. "From the way you told me that Chase came out from hiding at the same moment that you and Joey were about to kiss, it seems like his emotions drove him to act out."

"I don't know… I thought about that, but I don't think that's the case. I'm starting to feel like he just gets enjoyment out of seeing me hurt." Marshall answers.

"I'm not so sure…" Katie says.

"I told him to stay away from me… that I hated him." Marshall said, looking down.

"But did you really mean it?" Katie asked him.

Marshall sighed before silence started to settle in. "But enough about that. What's new with you and Ryder?" Marshall asked, changing the subject.

Katie instantly froze. "Uh… What are you talking about?" She asked while laughing nervously.

"Remember the time that we all were doing a _knight saves princess from dragon_ skit? When Ryder heard that he would have to kiss you, his face turned into a tomato." Marshall laughed, causing Katie to giggle as well.

"Well it wasn't like he hadn't done it before." After Katie said that, her eyes shot open wide. Marshall gave her a look. "Wait, no, I didn't mean it like that!" She laughed nervously again waving her hands in defense. "It all happened by accident." She added, mentally kicking herself soon after realizing she had already said too much. Now Marshall was the curious one. He gave her a wide grin and Katie lowered her head as she blushed heavily.

"So how did it happen?"

* * *

Chase wandered through an extremely dark area. He was trying to make his way out of Big View Trail and head back home, but he seemed to be lost in an area that wasn't familiar to him. There was nothing but darkness. It all seemed so strange to him. He had mistakenly fell asleep after his little encounter with Joey, but after waking up, his surroundings were nothing but darkness. He tried many times to get in touch with either Ryder or Skye, but every time he activated his pup-tag, there was only static. On top of that, it seemed as though he'd been walking on this trail for a great amount of time. Chase's pup-tag lit up as Skye's voice came through over the static.

" _Chase, where are you?"_

"Skye? It that you?" Chase asked, but there was no response back. "Skye? Skye?!" He tried to contact her again, only to hear the sound of static once more. "What's going on?" As he asked this question, a tiny light appeared out in the distance. Chase began to cautiously approach the light and as he drew closer, the light itself grew brighter. Chase walked into the light. The bright light was now blinding to the point where Chase had to cover his eyes. Once he opened them however, he was in a completely different setting and the darkness had cleared away. The crescent moon hung high in the sky.

"Huh… I'm back at the lake?" Chase said to himself. "Where was I before? What was that place?" He questioned. His ears began to perk up as he heard a sound. "Is that… crying?" Chase looked over to the direction of the sound and saw a familiar pup sitting in front of the lake.

"Marshall?"


	9. Reveries (Part 2)

Chase watched as Marshall sat in front of the lake sniffling and wiping his tears.

 _Marshall… Is_ _he crying because of me?_ Chase thought to himself. _All those things I said to him._ He stepped forward walking closer to the dalmatian. "Marshall?" Chase called to him. Marshall didn't respond. "Marshall… I know you don't want to speak to me right now, but-"

"Stupid Chase." Spat Marshall. Chase was taken aback. "You don't even care about how I feel. You're happy starting your relationship with Skye today… leaving me here miserable."

Chase raised his brow, he was quite confused at this statement seeing as he and Skye have been dating for a while now. "Marshall what are you t-"

"I never should've told you how I felt. ' _Take a chance,'_ I said. ' _Tell him how you feel,'_ I said. Why was I so stupid?" Marshall ranted through tears. Chase was silent now, just listening until he brought himself forward to speak.

"Marshall, I didn't know that you were still thinking about this." Chase said. Marshall didn't respond. "Look, I'm sorry for what I said yesterday." Chase lowered his head. "My words didn't really come out like I wanted them t-"

Marshall started walking towards the waters of the lake. He stopped directly in front, placing one paw into the water. He stared at his reflection as the small ripples coming from his paw moved through his image. He started to walk forward again, seeping deeper into the waters of the lake.

"Marshall… What are you doing?" Chase asked in a worriedly curious tone. Marshall continued to walk further. "Marshall stop!" Marshall went from walking to a full on run. He dived under the surface of the lake. "Marshall!" Chase panicked and ran into the lake, his paws and legs splashing up water as he moved through. He took a deep breath before diving under the surface. He saw Marshall unconscious and sinking. The lake seemed to be as deep as an ocean, bottomless even. Chase tried his best to swim toward the passed out pooch, but stopped in shock when a water-like tentacle wrapped itself around Marshall and pulled him down deeper. Chase didn't even notice as another tentacle crept up on him. It grabbed Chase's leg and began to drag him down as well. Chase struggled for air as he was pulled in deeper. He was starting to lose sight of Marshall and soon ran out of air as he was pulled deeper and deeper into darkness.

* * *

Chase woke up in bed, panting and gasping for air. _It was just a dream…_ He thought to himself. He breathed a sigh of relief. After calming himself and focusing his mind, he realized that he was laying in a bed that wasn't his own.

"Morning cutie. I hope you were dreaming about _me."_ Said a voice in a sultry tone.

Chase quickly turned his head to face the voice right next to him. "AHHH!" He yelled in surprise before almost falling out of the bed. A Dalmatian laid right beside him smiling at him lovingly. "Marshall?!"

Marshall giggled, throwing his arms around Chase. "Why do you sound so surprised silly?" Marshall said, nuzzling his nose into the shepherd's fur.

"Marshall… why are you in the same bed as me?" Chase asked.

Marshall laughed. "Chase, we've been sleeping together ever since we became mates.

Chase's eyes shot open. "MATES?!" He exclaimed as his mouth dropped. "Wh- That's not-when-how?"

Marshall cocked his head and gave Chase a confused look, while still smiling. "Chase you're acting pretty strange." He told the shepherd.

"I'm in a relationship with Skye… She's my mate."

"Chase, are you ok? Did you hit your head?" Marshall asked, now looking worried. "Do you have a fever?" He placed his paw on Chase's head. "You feel a little warm."

"Marshall i'm not s-"

"I'll go get my thermometer." Marshall said jumping off of the bed. Chase watched him as he ran out the bedroom door.

Chase sighed. "Where are we? This looks nothing like the lookout." Chase stared at the walls of the unfamiliar room, noticing many photos of him and Marshall hanging up. There were photos of the two playing, laughing, hugging, even kissing.

Marshall soon entered back into the room carrying his thermometer. "Ok, say ahh."

"Marshall I'm not-" Chase was cut off as Marshall shoved the thermometer into his mouth. Chase had to admit, it was nice seeing Marshall so worried about him. It had been quite a long time since he last saw Marshall show that type of behavior or concern toward him.

"Hmm… 101 degrees Fahrenheit. That's normal." Said Marshall. "Maybe I should try sticking it in your-"

"Marshall, I'm not sick!" Chase exclaimed, fearing the imminent penetration of his rear.

"Well… Why are you acting so strange?" Inquired the dalmatian.

"I'm not acting strange. Everything happening is just strange." Chase huffed. "Tell me, how exactly did we become mates?"

Marshall's ears dropped. "You really don't remember…" He said, lowering his head. "I had finally worked up the courage to tell you how I felt one day. After I told you, you confessed to me that you had always felt the same way. After that, we both shared a kiss and… we decided to become mates. I could never forget that moment…"

Chase mentally scratched his head. Marshall's story was definitely much different than how he actually remembered things. A thought then came to Chase's mind. "Wait, what happened to Joey?" Chase asked him.

"Joey?" Marshall looked very confused now. "You mean the turtle?" He replied.

 _Ok, now this is just getting weirder._ Chase thought. "Marshall, we're not mates. I don't remember anything you remember. I don't even know where we are. I feel like I'm going crazy."

"But is this really so bad?" Marshall asked him. "We're happy together… right?"

"I… I don't know. I don't even understand what's going on, Marshall." Chase answered.

"But you know that I love you." Said Marshall. "Chase… do you love me?"

Chase paused at this question for a moment. "Not… not in the way you want me to. I'm sorry, but this is all so confusing." Chase shut his eyes tightly and rubbed his temples. When he opened his eyes again, Marshall was gone. "Marshall?" Chase called but there was no response. Chase hopped out of the bed and searched all around the room, even under the bed and found no sign of the dalmatian. "Did he leave the room?" Chase walked up to the room door and opened it. The moment the door opened, water rushed into the room from the other side, sweeping Chase away in its powerful force. Once again Chase was completely submerged and gasping for air until he passed out.

* * *

"Chase! Chase!" Chase felt a paw shaking him. He looked up and saw Skye's smiling face.

"Skye?"

"Chase wake up. It's time." Skye said trying to pull him out of his pup-house.

"Time? Time for what?" Chase asked. Skye looked at him with a sad smile.

"Come outside."


	10. Epiphany

**AN: This has to be my favorite chapter by far.**

 **This should clear up the confusion of the previous chapter.**

* * *

Skye led Chase out of the pup-house and into the backyard where many people were gathered. Besides the pups and Ryder, there was the mayor and Chickeletta, Jake, Katie, the Porters, Daring Danny, the Turbots, and farmers Yumi and Al. Something hanging on the back of the lookout caught Chase's eye. It was a large banner that read _Farewell Marshall, and good luck._ "Farewell Marshall? What's going on?" Chase asked, turning to Skye.

Skye raised her eyebrow. "Chase, don't you remember?" She asked him. "Marshall is leaving town. He's leaving… the PAW Patrol."

Chase's mouth dropped at these words. "W-what?" Chase stammered out. "Why is he leaving?"

Skye cocked her head to the side. "Chase, what's going on with you? We've known for at least a week now."

"I've… just been forgetting a lot of things lately. Please Skye, just tell me." Answered Chase.

Skye let out a soft sigh. "Well to refresh your memory, Marshall is leaving because he wants to travel the world with Joey and Dirk and become a full fledged EMT pup." Skye explained.

"But there's no way Ryder would agree to this. We NEED Marshall!" Chase pointed out.

"Ryder was against it at first, but after realizing that it wasn't his decision to make, he relieved Marshall of his PAW Patrol duties." Skye explained. "We're all sad. We don't want Marshall to go, but we want him to be happy."

"And going miles away from us makes him _happy?"_ Remarked Chase.

"I don't think it's like that, Chase." Skye reasoned.

"Where is Marshall now?" Chase asked, looking around. "We should… we should try and convince him to stay."

"He's with Dirk and Joey." Skye answered. "He's already set to leave. He's leaving his pup house behind." She motioned her paw to the completely empty red pup house. "He's coming by to say one final goodbye before leaving town."

Chase lowered his head, looking towards the ground. _No… How did this happen? WHEN did this happen?_ He thought. _This doesn't make any sense. This can't be it._

Dirk's truck soon pulled into the driveway and out hopped Marshall and Joey with Dirk following close behind. Everyone began to crowd around Marshall, greeting the three with sad faces.

"C'mon Chase." Skye motioned, before moving toward the crowd. Chase himself just sat there speechless, still unable to process all this. What would the PAW Patrol be without Marshall? Without his silly antics and clumsiness? Without his big heart and compassion? What would _he_ be without Marshall?

Marshall approached Ryder. He slowly removed his pup-tag from his own collar and held it out to the ten-year old. Ryder reached down and picked up the red tag. As he held it within his hands, he kept looking at Marshall and then back at the tag again. Ryder got down on one knee in front of Marshall.

"You keep it." Ryder said. He smiled as he attached the pup-tag back onto the dalmatian's collar.

"Ryder… are you sure?" Marshall asked him.

Ryder rubbed Marshall's head. "I'm sure Marshall. This way we can still stay in contact… and see your face. I also want you to keep your EMT pup-pack. Now you won't have to worry about getting new materials." Ryder laughed.

Marshall smiled. He was almost in tears. "Thanks Ryder… for everything." Ryder hugged Marshall and Marshall returned his hug, licking his face a few times. He looked at the crowd surrounding him. "Thank you… all of you. I'm not really good at speeches, but I just wanted to say I've had great adventures and fun times with each and every one of you. I'll always cherish those times." once Marshall finished his sentence Rubble bursted into tears.

"Marshaaaaall! Don't go!" The english bulldog wailed. Rocky patted Rubble on the back in an attempt to comfort him.

Marshall continued. "This is a new journey for me. Something I never would have expected… but I've chosen this path, and I'm glad to have you all support me." As Marshall finished his sentence, Joey walked up beside him and licked his face. Marshall giggles. "Oh, and I can't forget all the support of my mate here too."

"MAAAATE?!" A voice shouted in the midst of the crowd. Everyone turned to face a certain shepherd.

"Sorry, it's my allergies…" Chase replied with a sheepish look.

Everyone turned back to face Marshall as he cleared his throat. "Like I was saying, Joey's been very supportive. He's the one who encouraged me. I always felt like I was kind of a screw up, but Joey made me feel different. Joey helped me see who I really was and what I was capable of.

Chase growled within his mind. _Joey this, Joey that, Joey everything._

"And I'm so glad to have met him." Marshall finished as he and his mate nuzzled each other. Chase felt his heart drop. Skye walked up to Ryder and nudged his leg.

"Oh Marshall, the pups each have something they want to give you." Ryder told him. Skye walked up to Marshall and handed him a pink aviator's cap with goggles.

"This is the same cap you wore when you rescued that kitten, Marshall. I want you to have it to remember me by." Skye said as she handed him the cap.

"Thank you Skye… I'll cherish it." Marshall smiled.

Next was Rubble. Rubble handed Marshall an _Apollo Super Pup_ comic. "Marshall… this is one of my favorite issues. I want you to take it with you…" He said, sniffling.

"Issue 270? But that's your favorite." Marshall said, the surprise clear in his voice.

"YOU'RE my favorite. I hope you always think of me when you read it." Rubble said, before hugging him.

Zuma approached Marshall next, holding a trophy. "Mawrshall, I want you to have my 1st place _Pup Pup Boogie_ tournament twrophy." He said before setting the trophy beside Marshall.

"What?!" Marshall looked shocked. "I can't just take your troph-"

"Dude, it's ok. This way, no matter how far you go… you'll always remember who the champ is." Zuma smiled a sad smile.

Marshall smiled back. "Thank you Zuma. I'll never forget."

Zuma walked away and Rocky was next in line.

"Marshall…" Rocky started as he took off his signature cap."

Marshall looked surprised. "Rocky, that's your favorite cap. You can't…" Marshall said, before the mixed breed placed the cap on top of his head. Rocky took a step back, looking over Marshall.

"It actually looks better on you." Rocky replied with a slight laugh.

"Rocky… don't." Said Marshall.

"You better not get it wet." Laughed the mixed breed.

Marshall stared at his friend, wiping his eyes. "I'll take good care of it. I promise." He said. Rocky returned his friend's smile. The next pup to give Marshall a gift was Everest. She sat one of her favorite snowboards in front of Marshall.

"Since you're traveling the world, you can use this if you ever visit any snowy areas." She told him.

"You even painted it red for me." Marshall said, as he stared at the board.

"Yeah… Jake helped me with that part." She laughed, looking toward Jake as he gave a nod. "Maybe me and Jake will run into you and we can even race sometime."

"I look forward to it Everest." Marshall said, shooting Everest and Jake another smile.

Ryder had noticed that Chase was missing from the group. "Uh… Has anyone seen Chase?" He asked. Everyone glanced around, but Chase was nowhere to be seen.

"He's been acting kinda weird today." Skye said. "He didn't even remember that today was the day Marshall was leaving. Maybe he's not feeling well?"

Dirk pulled out his phone and looked at the time. "Time for us to hit the road you two. I'd hate to cut this short, but we've got a long drive ahead of us." Dirk said, turning to walk toward his vehicle. Everyone took turns hugging Marshall and wishing him well.

"Please take good care of our Marshall." The Mayor said to Joey.

"Marshall, I'm going to train to become a fire pup just like you." Alex told the dalmatian.

"Alex, I think you mean _fireman."_ Mr. Porter corrected.

"No grandpa." Alex replied, causing the group to erupt in laughter.

"Marshall please come and visit whenever you can." Farmer Yumi told him.

"Marshall, I'm going to call you from Ryder's pup-pad everyday. So be sure to pick up." Katie said, winking to Marshall.

The two dalmatians walked to Dirk's truck and with the help of Joey, Marshall lowered the ramp to the back and loaded all of his gifts on the inside. He ran back to his crowd of friends to say one final goodbye. All of the pups and Ryder surrounded him in one last group hug. All except Chase.

"Take care of yourself Marshall." Ryder told him.

"In dark of night. In light of day…" Marshall said.

"We the PAW Patrol will serve Adventure Bay." Said Rocky.

"From runaway trains to stranded whales…" said Skye.

"We'll rush to the rescue with wagging tails." Said Rubble.

"If dangerw's near, just give a yelp…" said Zuma.

"The PAW Patrol is here to help!" Finished Everest.

Once the group hug ended, Marshall walked back to Dirk's truck. As he walked onto the ramp of the truck, he heard someone call out to him.

"Marshall…!"

Marshall stopped and looked back to see Chase at the bottom of the ramp.

"Chase?"

"Marshall, why are you leaving?" Chase asked him. "Is it because of me?"

"No Chase, I-"

"I'm sorry for what I said yesterday. I don't think you're disgusting." Chase continued, earning a confused look from Marshall.

"Yesterday?" Marshall said, raising an eyebrow. "Chase, that was weeks ago."

"Weeks?" Repeated Chase. "I just don't understand what's going on." Chase's tone had a bit of frustration now as he buried his face into his paws. "I'm just sorry for what I said… for how I acted."

"Chase…" Marshall smiled a sweet smile. "You don't have to apologize. I already forgave you for everything." Marshall explained. "I'm not leaving because of you; I'm leaving because I want to. I want to be with Joey, and I want to travel and see the world with him and Dirk. I want to be a professional EMT pup, so don't blame yourself."

"But why? Why Joey?" Asked Chase.

"What's your problem with Joey? He's always been there for me. Even when I first met him." Marshall smiled as he reminisced. "He just wanted to see me smile. Somewhere along the way, I guess I just fell for him." Marshall confessed. Dirk honked the horn of his truck. "I'm sorry Chase, I have to go." Marshall turns to walk into the truck, but is quickly stopped by Chase grabbing his paw. "Chase?!"

"Marshall… we won't be the same without you. I won't be the same without you. How could you really leave this… ALL of this behind?" Chase was getting close to tears now.

"Chase, I'm sorry, but I-" Marshall was cut short as Chase pulled him into an embrace, hugging him tightly.

"No! I can't! I won't let you go! I won't let you leave!" Shouted Chase. Chase couldn't explain what he was feeling right now. He was scared. He was hurt. He was angry. He was sad. All these emotions were flowing through him at once and he no longer had any control of them. Just for a second he wondered. Could he really have feelings for Marshall? "Stay here…" Chase said softly.

"Chase, I know you think I'm just going through a phase. That it's disgusting to be with other males, but Joey is my true-"

"I don't care about that!" Chase shouted. "Just please… stay here with me." He said. Something was burning deep within the shepherd now. Something he didn't know exactly how to say.

"What do you mean you don't care about that?" Marshall asks.

"I-I feel like I've been so confused all along. I never cared about you liking males." Chase confessed. "I was just afraid that I… might like-"

 **HOOOOONK!** Dirk blew the horn once again.

Marshall gently moved Chase's arms from around him. "I'm sorry Chase… but it's too late." Marshall looked at him with sad eyes before slowing backing up into the darkness of the truck. Marshall disappeared into the dark space and seconds later Joey emerges.

"I warned you. He's mine now." Joey said in a dark tone. "Now… drown in the depths of your own vacant heart." He thrusted his paw forward and in response water shot out from the back of the truck, flooding and submerging Chase once again. Chase finds himself floating deeper into a dark bottomless lake. The same lake he was in previously.

 _Marshall… don't leave me…_

* * *

Chase wakes up once again, to find himself in the playroom of the lookout, where he sees Marshall having a conversation with someone.

"Just forget it!" Marshall was having a conversation with… another Chase? "Forget this whole conversation! I knew it was a mistake to try and tell you… It was stupid of me to even try!" Marshall tried to run past Chase, but was stopped by Chase grabbing him by the collar.

"Oh Marshall," he started as he smiled. "You know I could never love you." He roughly yanked the dalmatian's collar and threw him against the wall. Marshall grunted out in pain.

Chase gasped. The duplicate Chase flashed a toothy grin as he walked back up to Marshall. "What are you doing?!" Chase shouted at his duplicate.

"You already know how _we_ do." He responded back to Chase, before savagely bitting Marshall's leg. Marshall howled out in even more pain.

"STOP!" Chase commanded as he rushed towards the other shepherd. Chase tried to ram the shepherd, only to pass right through him as if he was just an illusion. "What…?" Chase said, looking behind him.

"Chase, Chase, Chase." The duplicate shepherd shook his head. "We're one in the same. We don't care about this worthless piece of trash, so stop PRETENDING." He thrusted his paw into Marshall's stomach, resulting in another heartbreaking cry. The dalmatian was at the point of tears now.

"Please stop!" Chase commanded again as he tried to tackle his duplicate, only to fail once again.

"See? You can't touch me because deep down you know you want this." The evil Chase approached Marshall again; towering over him.

"Ch-Chase…" Marshall let out through sniffles. "Why? Why are you doing this to me?" He said with drenched eyes. Chase couldn't stand watching this. What was he to do? How _could_ he stop this.

"Please… stop this! You're hurting him!" Chase commanded again. "I don't want this. I never wanted this."

"Oh? Is that so?" The evil Chase said mockingly. "But we're soooo good at hurting him. So good at making him cry. Doesn't it make you feel so powerful to be in control of all those emotions."

"You're sick." Chase shot back.

The evil Chase chuckled darkly. "Yes WE are."

"I'm not like you. I'm nothing like you." Chase growled.

"But you ARE me. We're one in the same. WE'VE hurt him before, remember?" The dark shepherd reminded. Chase took a second to think about it. Then it hit him. He really had been hurting Marshall a lot.

"Chase, why do you hate me?" Marshall asked, looking at the dark Chase with teary eyes.

"Marshall, I don't hate you!" Chase explained to the dalmatian.

"He can't hear you." The dark shepherd laughed, as he picked Marshall up by the collar, choking him. He then drew his claws and swiped Marshall's face, leaving three long bloody gashes across the dalmatian.

"Stop! Just stop! I can't take this anymore!" Chase cried out.

"Why?!" The dark shepherd taunted as he swiped Marshall over and over. "Why do you care so much about what happens to this piece of trash?! Huh? Why. Do. You. Care?!"

"Because I love him!" Chase shouted. His voice echoed out repeatedly as everything came to a standstill. It was as if time literally stopped at that moment. Marshall faded away and the background changed to a completely white void.

The duplicate shepherd looked at Chase and smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry… I may have overdid it a little." He replied. "I just couldn't stand seeing you hurt our Marshall anymore."

Chase looked toward the other shepherd with confusion. "What…"

"You're stubborn. I knew I would have to go this far. You are _me_ after all. This, ALL of this was to make you see."

"Make me see?" Chase repeated.

The duplicate began walking toward Chase. "Yes. You do love him. You've been jealous of Joey, because you felt like Marshall was moving on. You felt like you were being replaced." The other Chase explained. "You didn't care that Marshall liked males. You were just afraid; afraid of the feelings that you realized you might have for him." The duplicate stopped walking and stopped directly in front of Chase.

"Who… who are you?" Chase asked.

The other Chase smiled widely. "I'm what's known as your _true feelings."_ He answered. "Now go; go and tell my- _our_ Marshall how you really feel. How WE really feel." A bright light began to shine forth and completely envelope the room.

* * *

Chase's eyes shot open as he awoke, gasping. He looked over his surroundings. He had been laying in the same grassy spot that he had been in ever since his talk with Joey.

" _Chase! Chase… please answer me!"_

"Skye?" Chase said in surprise. Skye sounded like she was very panicked; crying even. "Skye is everything alright?"

" _Oh my dog! Chase, where are you?! Are you ok?!"_ She asked.

Chase yawned. "Yeah… I fell asleep on Big View Trail…" He said as he stretched his paws.

" _Ryder! I have Chase on call! He's on Big View Trail!"_ Skye shouted, informing Ryder. " _Chase you had me worried! I called and called! Even Ryder was worried! He was in the process of tracking your pup-tag!"_

"Sorry Skye, I didn't mean to worry you… I'm ok. I'll be back at the lookout soon." Chase told her.

" _Ok, I can't wait to see yo-"_ Skye was cut off as Chase ended the call. Everything felt so surreal to the shepherd right now. The time he had spent within his dreams felt like almost a day had passed, yet in reality only an hour had passed. Getting on all fours, he picked himself off the ground and started his walk out of Big View Trail. Only one thing echoed throughout his mind.

 _I… love Marshall…_


	11. Divulgence

**AN: Yes I'm still alive. Ever since I've gotten the promotion at my job in Nov. I've been super busy and have had less time and drive to write or even draw. I'm hoping things will change soon so that I can have the job I want with the free time that I want. I apologize for the over 3 month gap it took to get this chapter to you guys (if people still even read this story.) Now without further ado...**

* * *

Skye sat across from Chase, atop a checkered pink and white picnic sheet as she set up paper plates and plastic utensils around them. The two pups were finally having their afore planned picnic on the cliff of Big View Trail's mountain top. Although the skies were gray and the weather was cloudy, Skye thought that there couldn't have been a more perfect time.

"Ok…" Skye said, as she rummaged in the picnic basket. "I have roast beef, ham, bologna, turkey, and… liver." She said, pulling out the last batch of sandwiches. She spreaded them out on thin paper plates that she had packed with the sandwiches. "So what kind do you want?" She asked him. Chase had been staring into the distance the entire time. "Hello? Earth to Chase." She said, waving her paw in his view.

Chase shook his head, snapping out of what seemed to be a trance. "Huh? O-Oh… I'll take a roast beef." He finally answered.

"Great choice." Skye said, as she handed him the roast beef sandwich smiling.

Chase stared at her as his own thoughts continued to badger him. _How can I tell her. It would break her heart._ Chase accepted the sandwich from her, holding it within both of his paws. _She has to know…_

Skye stared at Chase, waiting for him to take a bite of the sandwich she had made. "Are you just going to stare at it all day?" She laughed.

"O-Oh." Chase finally took a bite of the sandwich. The mix of mayonnaise and barbecue sauce really complimented the roast beef slices. The taste was the perfect combination of sweet and salty. The sandwich was overall delicious.

"So whaddaya think?" Skye asked, noticing the look of complete satisfaction on Chase's face.

"It's really… good." The shepherd said, taking another bite.

Skye smiled. "I'm glad you like it." She said wagging her tail. "These sandwiches were made with my love." She motioned her paw to the sandwiches. Her comment caught Chase by surprise causing him to nearly choke on his sandwich. Skye quickly ran to his side and began patting his back. "Chase, are you ok?!"

"Yeah… *cough*." Chase answered, finally regaining himself. "I guess I *cough*... was just eating too fast."

Skye breathed a sigh of relief. "Well slow down. There's plenty more where that came from. Here, let me get you some water." She reached into the picnic basket and handed Chase an ice cold bottled water. Chase took three huge gulps and downed half of the bottle.

"Thanks Skye, I needed that."

After the two finished eating, Skye couldn't help but feel that there was something strange with how quiet Chase was being. She had spent a lot of time planning this day for Chase, but it seemed that the shepherd really wasn't that into it. Sighing, she walked over to the edge of the cliff. "Chase, the view from here is just breathtaking." She said, looking over the edge. "C'mon, you gotta see it." Chase made his way to the edge of the cliff and sat beside her. From this spot on the cliff, the two could see over many acres of the forest and they had a wide scale view of the entire town all the way up to the beach. "Isn't it just romantic Chase?" She asked the shepherd. Chase had to admit, the view from up there was really amazing. It even helped to calm his mind some. He could see the citizens walking and driving around the town. He could see some of the pups playing at the lookout. He could even see Cap'n Turbot fiddling with some contraption on the _Flounder._ Something on the beach caught the cockapoo's eye. "Hey Chase isn't that Marshall?" Chase quickly got up and looked out into the direction that Skye was pointing her paw. It was indeed Marshall, walking on the beach with some other pup. "Ooohh Who's that other dalmatian he's with?" Skye asked aloud.

Chase knew that other pup was none other than Joey. _Do those two spend ANY time apart._ Chase asked in his mind. He started to growl within his thoughts, but what he didn't realize is that he was actually growling aloud.

"Chase are you growling?" Skye asked him.

Chase immediately stopped. "No… I was just uh- scratching my throat." He lied.

"Ohh k?" Replied a confused Skye as she looked back down at the two dalmatians. That certainly didn't sound like any throat scratch she'd ever heard. She leaned in closer to Chase, Changing the subject. "You know… It's been awhile since we shared our last kiss." She batted her eyelashes at him. She puckered her lips and moved in closer.

"Skye…" Chase started. The cockapoo stopped in her tracks. "There's something I need to tell you." He said. Skye's heart instantly filled with suspense. What could Chase possibly have to tell her? It seemed rather important by the way he hesitated. _I can't… I just can't!_ Chase told himself. _What will she think of me? How would she react?_ Chase shut his eyes and gritted his teeth as his hesitation was drawn out even longer. _What if she gets angry? What if she goes after Marshall? I'll just be making more problems for him. I…_ Chase's thoughts were cut off as an image of his inner self appeared within his own mind.

 _Go… Go and tell our Marshall how WE feel._

The events of last night's dream flashed through Chase's mind. Remembering this, Chase had finally made up his mind. He opened his eyes and looked at Skye, staring deep into her eyes. Skye felt as though Chase's stare was one of complete love and she melted inside. _I- I think he's about to ask me to take our relationship to the next level. Oh my dog! I must be dreaming!_ She screamed in her mind, unable to suppress her excitement any longer.

"Skye…"

"Yes Chase?" She answered batting her lashes.

"...I can't be with you anymore."

"Oh Chase, you don't know how long I've been waiting to h-" Skye's expression quickly shifted to a shocked one. "Wh-What…"

"I said… I can't be with you anymore." Chase repeated.

"What are you saying?" She asked him in disbelief.

Chase turned his gaze away from her. "I can't be your mate anymore…"

Skye felt her heart drop. "Chase, why are you saying this? Did I… do something wrong?" She asked him. Chase slowly shook his head.

"No. I'm sorry. There's… just someone else." Chase admitted. Skye gasped. She stared at the shepherd for a few seconds before turning her head back towards the open view of the town. She found herself sadly staring at the sight of the beach, when she caught sight of the two dalmatians again. At that moment, she began to put the pieces together.

"It's Marshall, isn't it?" Her words made Chase quickly turn to face her; the surprise clearly showing in his wide eyes. "When you first confessed your love to me… I was a little surprised. I never knew that you thought that way of me. I had thought that you only had eyes for Marshall." She raised her head, revealing a sad smile as she continued to explain. "You two were so close. I would always notice the way that Marshall would stare at you… and even at times the way you would stare at him. I thought that you two would end up together, but then… you came to me. I knew that I was the reason why Marshall changed; the reason why he was so depressed, but...I was happy. I was so happy… just being with you. I didn't feel any guilt at all for taking you away from him." Chase stared at the grass below him as Skye continued. "Yesterday I noticed that you were starting to become more focused on him, but I never would have guessed that…" Skye cut herself off and silence between the two settled in as the wind whistled over. Chase opened his mouth to try and break the silence, but he didn't know quite what to say. "It's ok." Skye said, speaking up. "I don't want you to feel any guilt. I guess… this is just the way things were supposed to be." She looked into his eyes and smiled with a sweet expression. "As long as you're happy Chase… that's all that matters."

"Skye.." Chase said, looking back at her. "Thank you." Chase gave her a brief hug before running off, heading to his police truck. Skye watched him until he was completely out of view. A tear trickled down her muzzle.

"I guess this is my karma… Right."

* * *

As Chase drove down the street on his way to the beach, there was only one thing on his mind; Marshall. He had truly come to terms with his feelings and his decision. It made him even happier that Skye was so accepting of everything; or at least acted as though she was.

 _Marshall…_ Chase thought to himself. He briefly imagined what a life with Marshall as a mate would be like. He pictured himself and Marshall always being together. Inseparable. He pictured himself running into Marshall's arms before they embraced and shared a long kiss. He closed his eyes in delight. _I never would've imagined that this would turn out to be what I've wanted all along. Marshall I'm comi-_

 ***HONK!* *SCREECH!***

Chase slammed on his brakes, merely centimeters from colliding with another car. Breathing heavily as a man got out of the other vehicle.

"What's the matter with you!" The man shouted angrily as he began yelling out profanities.

"Sorry Sir!" Chase called out sheepishly. "I was just-"

"Just NOTHIN'!" He yelled cutting the shepherd off. "What's the matter with you driving with your eyes closed! And you're the _law_ at that?! I'm reporting you to your supervisor!" Chase couldn't help but feel embarrassed in this situation. He did close his eyes for a brief moment but he didn't think it was THAT long. "If you would have wrecked my rental, you'd be paying for it! Jeez what's the matter with this town?!" The man grumbled. "First some purple suit wearing bozo runs me off the road and now some cop canine who got his license out of a cereal box almost hits me head on?!" The man continues to mumble and grumble as his face turns redder.

Chase hopped out of his cruiser and approached the man trying to diffuse the situation. "Sir, i'm really sorry." He said, trying once again to apologize. "I'm normally more focused." Chase told him as he lowered his head, drooping his ears in shame. The man looked over the shepherd and couldn't help but be moved by how innocent and cute he looked.

"Well… I suppose accidents DO happen…" The man said, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry about the little outburst. I'm just a little on edge from a wreck I had yesterday." The stranger explained. "You gotta be more careful. I could've had a kid in the car. If you're that tired you should just pull over and get some rest." Chase slowly nodded his head. He didn't have the courage to tell the stranger that he was daydreaming and not sleeping. "If you need me to follow you to a safe location, I'd be more than happy to." The man offered.

"No. That's alright." Chase declined. "I should be fine now."

"Are you sure?" The man questioned. Chase nodded his head. "Well, alright then. You're a pretty nice pup." The stranger said while patting Chase's head. He slowly walked back to his vehicle. "I won't rat on you to your chief. Just drive slowly and be sure to keep those eyes open." He included before shutting his door and driving off.

"Well… that situation was embarrassing…" Chase said to himself. "What am I doing? I need to focus." He hopped back into his cruiser and continued making his way down the road.

* * *

"You've been pretty quiet. What are you thinking about?"

"Just… some things I dreamt about last night." Marshall answered. He and Joey laid on the beach sands, vertically opposite one another.

"What was it?" Joey inquired.

"Well.. uh…" Marshall hesitated. "Just… ya know… normal stuff." He answered.

"I get it. It's personal." Joey responded with a laugh.

"It's not that… In my dream my friends and I were attacked by this scary ghost pirate thing." Marshall shuddered.

"Ghost pirate? Can't really say that's my ideal dream." Joey said, chuckling.

"Well you could definitely call it more of a nightmare. Getting stabbed through the heart with a rusty hook isn't exactly MY ideal dream." Marshall said as he shook the thoughts from his head. "By the way… I wanted to apologize for yesterday." he continued as he sat up.

"What do you mean?" Joey asked.

"Well, it's just… You must have felt really uncomfortable in the middle of all that."

Joey sat up and let out a light laugh. "No, it's fine really. Things like that just tend to happen sometimes."

"But still, it was pretty embarrassing for me. I shouldn't have tried to make a move on you like that… I really am disgusting."

"Don't say that!" Joey said, sitting up. "there's NOTHING disgusting about you. And besides… it wasn't all just you, ya know, I played my part in things too…" Joey sighed. "We were both just caught in the moment, that's all. You're my friend Marsh, and I won't let you beat up on yourself like that." Joey laid back down after finishing his sentence.

Marshall felt a bit disheartened at Joey's choice of words. _That's right…_ he thought to himself. _Just friends… it seems like that's all I'll ever be to anybody._ It didn't take Joey very long to notice the dalmatian's expression and he couldn't help but pry.

"What's wrong?" Joey asked him.

"It's nothing…" Marshall replied. There was a brief moment of silence before Marshall decided to speak up again. "Joey…"

"hmm?"

Marshall swallowed hard. "What do you think of me?" he asked.

Joey blinked twice as his cheeks turned red. "Wh- What do you mean?" he stammered.

"I mean… how do you view me?"

Joey began to rub the back of his head as he continued to stammer. "W-Well you know, I think you're a really nice person. You care about others, you help people in need. You tend to rag on yourself a lot, but you're better than you think you are. Overall you're a great friend."

 _Friend._ There was that word again. "Thanks… for clearing that up." Marshall said sadly.

Joey blinked in confusion. "Clearing what up?" He asked.

"That we're… just friends…" Marshall answered. "I was really starting to think that the two of us had some kind of connection." After hearing this Joey didn't quite know what to say. He couldn't possibly tell Marshall how he really felt after telling Chase that he would give him a chance to confess his feelings to Marshall. Joey chose to stay silent, not saying a word, though to his dismay, that only made the situation worse. _He didn't even respond…_ Marshall began thinking to himself. _Why…_ He bit his lip. "Why is it that no one ever returns my feelings?!" It didn't take Marshall long to realize that his private thoughts had transferred into verbal ones. He looked down to see Joey staring at him. This moment became very awkward for Marshall. "I-I should go." Marshall said, as he got down on all fours.

"But- Marshall…" Joey said, sitting back up. Marshall wasted no time listening to any explanation and began running. This scene seemed all too familiar to Joey.

" _Joey… What do you think of me?"_

" _Huh… What do you mean Kyle?"_

" _Uh, I guess what I'm trying to ask is… what am I to you?"_

" _Well that should be obvious. You're my best friend."_

 _Stupid! Stupid! Why am I always making a fool of myself?!_ Marshall mentally beat himself up. Once he had gotten a good distance away, he looked back in Joey's direction and was surprised to see him running toward him. Joey had been running so fast that he couldn't find any traction in the sand to stop and ended up crashing right into Marshall, knocking him flat on his back. Marshall could feel his friend's beating chest on top of him.

"I'm sorry… for knocking you down." Joey said, as he wrapped his arms around Marshall's neck in an embrace. Marshall was at a loss for words. "Don't leave me here…" Joey told him, his voice was a bit shaky. Marshall felt something wet fall on his fur. He caught a glimpse of Joey's face, noticing the tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry… don't leave me here." Joey repeated. "I don't want to lose you. You're my friend… but you're also much more. I haven't felt such a strong connection with someone in so long- I… I can't hold back anymore. I want you. I need you… to be my mate."

Marshall lifted up Joey's head and used his paw to wipe his tears. He smiled a sweet smile at Joey. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm all yours." He replied. Joey pressed his lips down on Marshall's as the two engaged in a passionate kiss. Marshall couldn't have been any happier at this moment.

Joey broke his kiss, parting his lips from Marshall's. "And I'm all yours." He replied back with a smile. "I've been waiting to do that for awhil-" In a flash of brown, Joey was suddenly tackled and pinned to the ground. He heard loud growling and looked up to see a pair of fangs bared at him.

"YOU LIAR!"


End file.
